OverTale
by Akumokagetsu
Summary: Took a whack at what life would be like for the Undertale characters once the story ends. Set in a more or less 'realistic' universe (as realistic as can be when it comes to talking skeletons and eating ramen in battle). Sans is constantly expecting and dreading resets, struggling with nihilism to make the best out of life. Intended for mature audiences, not to be taken seriously.
1. After Ever After

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Sans leaned heavily on the balcony of the rooftop deck, a cool summer's evening breeze blowing over his head. He let out a quiet sigh through his nose (or lack thereof, technically) and watched the enormous glowing ball sink lower and lower under the lip of the horizon, as if a giant magnificent ball were slowly rolling away. It was moments like these that he could slip into a peaceful sort of trance, letting his mind wander away from him without going completely to sleep, even though he was more than ready for that.

"Pretty, huh?"

Sans nearly leaped out of the skin that he didn't have at the sound of Papyrus just behind him. The taller skeleton was slurping noisily at what appeared to be a vomit colored milkshake, one hand tucked into the pocket of his 'super ultra deluxe battle smoking jacket' that he had evidently picked up somewhere. In all likelihood, a thrift store. Or, as Sans preferred to call them, 'discount chop shops'.

"Papyrus," Sans let out a shaky breath. "Can you _please_ not sneak up on me like that? What if I had heart palpitations or something?"

"But we don't have any organs," Papyrus took another long drink of his... _unpleasant_ looking drink. "Is that even possible?"

"I'd rather not find out..." Sans let out a weak chuckle, turning back to watch the sunset as the cool breeze ruffled his tee shirt.

Papyrus leaned against the balcony with him, and the wooden barrier let out a reluctant groan. The skeleton seemed uneasy about something, and Sans was positive that if his brother had a lip he'd be chewing on it.

"... I've been meaning to ask you something," Papyrus said after a long minute.

 _And we're playin' the fued._

"What's up, Paps?" he replied without looking away from the steadily dwindling sun.

"Well, uh..." the skeleton rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, swirling around his empty drink for a few seconds as if to buy time. He cleared his throat, a little frown crawling onto his face. "Sans, are you... alright?"

"Yeah, of course," Sans responded without hesitation in a rehearsed tone. "Everything's great."

"Are you sure?" Papyrus shifted uneasily.

"Absolutely. Why do you ask?"

"You've been up here since morning."

"Well-"

" _Yesterday_ morning," Papyrus's frown deepened. "I know you like your alone time and all, but I worry about you."

Sans didn't answer.

"... Asgore's clone is making smoothies," Papyrus said after a bit, motioning with his empty glass. "They're made with something called 'hummus', because apparently human food is full of preservatives and has a serious lack of snails."

"What's it taste like?"

"It's pretty awful," Papyrus answered honestly. "I'm not sure how the human is managing to keep it down."

"I meant the snails," he grinned, closing his eyes.

"The old goat won't share any with me..." Papyrus crossed his arms grumpily.

"... Right," Sans's eyes snapped open. "So, two things. Firstly, was that pun intentional?"

Papyrus's mouth opened, but he was interrupted before he could answer.

"And secondly," his left eye began glowing a violent shade of periwinkle, " _Never call Tori that in front of me again."_

Papyrus cleared his throat again uneasily, pulling the neck of his jacket away with one finger bone.

"R-right..." he let out a weak, humorless laugh. Sans was already staring back at the place that the sun had been, the shorter skeleton flipping his has carelessly back at him.

"Ah, fuhgeddaboudit," Sans let out a quiet sigh.

"Forget about what?" Papyrus blinked.

Sans facepalmed.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Papyrus straightened up immediately, all fervor returning in an instant. "Brother, I must insist that you at least join us for dessert. Or, actually, after dessert dessert."

"Extra desserts?" Sans pried one open to give his brother a sly glance.

"Indeed!" he was quick to grin back at him. "I believe Ms. Goat Clone had a suspicion that the hummus shakes weren't exactly the grand idea that she believed, so she insisted upon making a type of pudding as well."

"So, what you're saying is..." Sans's grin slowly grew in size, and Papyrus slowly raised an eyebrow that he didn't have. "You deserted the dessert to tell me about after dessert dessert, and the after dessert dessert was deservedly deserted."

"Sans," Papyrus deadpanned.

"Yes, my brother?"

"You can be a real ass. You're lucky I love you."

"Oh, aye, an ass I can be, but an ass with an amazing alacrity for astounding amounts of alliteration in awesome array."

"That was awful. Never do it again."

Sans only laughed and shook his head, but the unwilling little smile on Papyrus's face said plenty.

He took his time getting the laugh out of his system, letting all the pent up feelings get torn away by the wind. He cleared his eye with one bony finger, though Papyrus seemed utterly unamused.

"... So are you coming downstairs or what?" Papyrus offered a hand, head bobbing back toward the little wooden door.

"Yeah, I could go for some grub right about now," he patted his slightly rotund stomach, which was a mystery in and of itself. His slippers scraped across the deck as he dragged his feet, ever so slowly hauling the door open. "I guess you could say I'm nearly starving to d-"

Sans promptly tripped over something warm and went sailing down the stairs, head over heels as he tumbled with extremely uncomfortable sounding grunts all the way to the bottom.

A set of swift footfalls were heard as he woozily attempted to right himself, one arm somehow twisted around behind him in the fall and pushed hard against the floor beneath his body.

"What happened, who fell?" the upside down sight of Toriel skidding through the hall caused him to jerkily pull himself upward, straining his neck.

"I told you those stairs were _up_ to something," Sans let out a wheeze, only to find himself being gingerly pulled to his feet. His arm swung back into place with a loud crack, and he rolled his neck to see the shocked expressions of both his brother, and to a lesser extent, Frisk, who was hiding with a hand over her mouth between Papyrus's legs.

Nobody laughed except Sans.

Toriel gave him a careful squeeze, and he caught her relieved sigh.

"Well, clearly you're just fine," she released him sooner than he'd have liked. "Just be _careful_ , Sans-"

"I-it was my fault," Frisk's soft voice wafted down the stairway, and he caught the tears gathering in her eyes. "I'm s-sorry, I-I just wanted to see when Sans was c-coming back..."

 _Whelp, I feel like a jerk._

"Aww, jeeze..." Sans rubbed the back of his neck guiltily, pulling the child into a hug. "C'mon, I'm fine, see?" he lied, forcing a wide grin. "Hey! I said I was planning a trip, and wouldn't you know it..."

Papyrus was violently shaking his arms back and forth behind Frisk, silently mouthing _no no no_ , but it was far too late for that. Frisk burst into hysterical tears, gripping his stomach and sobbing. He spotted the intent glare of Toriel's out of the corner of his eye socket, and was careful not to meet her death stare.

"... WELL," Papyrus clapped his hands together after an extremely uncomfortable few seconds. "Somebody's sleeping on the couch tonight."

 _Papyrus, you can be a real ass. You're lucky I love you._

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AN – Just a little something I threw together. I might write more if anyone actually likes it. I'unno.

I'm incredibly lazy. –\ _ /–


	2. Run Forever

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The song of chirruping crickets serenaded Sans as he stared up at the ceiling, the droning of a late night game show only barely heard over the insects, but he wasn't listening to either.

One arm lazily draped over himself and the other dangling over the edge of the couch, Sans let out a long, drawn out sigh as the dimly flickering light washed over him in a low hue. Evidently, it was going to be one of those nights where sleep was hard to come by. He ran over the statistical probability of Toriel putting a fist to the side of his head for upsetting Frisk so badly, and seriously rethought, if only for a moment, Papyrus's warm gesture to share his own bed.

Then again, maybe he was better off on the couch.

This way he had a better view of _him._

The little golden flower stared back at him through the darkness, his porcelain pot shining in the moonlight bathing the countertop. He could see the little beady eyes watching his every movement, almost as if he were waiting for him to fall asleep.

"... You just gonna stare at me all night long?" Sans asked flippantly, causing Flowey's eyes to narrow. "Or do you just really like what you see?"

Flowey didn't answer.

"Take a picture. It'll last longer."

"I don't have _fingers,_ " the golden flower finally responded in a venomous hiss. "Believe me, if I did I'd have strangled you out of aggravation already."

"I already don't believe most of the things you say," Sans returned his gaze to the game show, where a group of humans were gathered around a colored wheel. If Flowey was irritated, he couldn't see it, but he didn't have to to know it. At some point or another Sans had flipped upside down on the couch, head dangling off the cushion.

Without warning, Sans jerked out of his stupor and stumbled to his feet, startling the living flower.

"I've gotta go take care of something," the skeleton firmly put on his slippers and readjusted his jacket. "Don't go anywhere."

"If I didn't know you better I'd say you were being a smart ass."

"Oh, puh-lease," Sans rolled his eyes. "I'm smart all over my body. And quit staring."

It was several moments after Sans had already left that Flowey finally managed to close his mouth, still slightly flabbergasted.

"I do _not_ stare, you egotistical, smarmy- dammit he's gone," he grumbled angrily to himself. Flowey scowled viciously instead at the spot Sans had been, several good comebacks only now occurring to him. Most of them were sprinkled with a very choice variety of very rude remarks and language that would have surely made Toriel blush. Regardless, he was sure to have quite a few lined up for that eternally grinning jerk the next time he saw him.

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How many hours had it been?

It was clearly still nighttime, though whether it was late evening or early morning Sans was unable to tell. He shook off the thought and resumed screwing in a fixture beneath the mass of wires protruding from the machine looming above him, the heat from his breath gradually turning the overhanging tarp into a small sauna. He wasn't quite sure whether or not skeletons could sweat, but if they could he was surely doing it now. Sans patted the concrete floor of the basement a couple times in search of something, fingers grasped tightly around a set of blueprints. The glow of his eye lit up the room for a few moments as he scanned a number of long mathematical equations with no apparent solutions, waving pictographs intersecting at apparently random intervals and schematics that he could barely follow.

Sans closed his eyes for a moment of contemplation, power drill in one hand. For a brief second, he wondered if it was still even worth it. It would be much easier to cease all of his problems with a flick of the drill. Simpler. Faster. Efficient.

He was swift to shake off that idea as well, forcing his weary mind to return to the task at hand. This was no time to let his mind wander to dreary places, not when there was work to do.

He was interrupted by the sound of slowly shuffling feet, and Sans quickly squirmed out from beneath the behemoth machine, glistening metal nearly blinding him as he struggled to yank the tarp (mostly) over the device.

"Heyya, bud," Sans leaned against the tarp, sticking his hands into his pocket. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I heard noises," Frisk rubbed her eyes with one hand, the other tucked awkwardly behind her back. Was she... hiding something? "I thought you were leaving again, so I w-was hurrying..."

She trailed off uneasily, wide eyes latched onto his own. Sans suddenly felt like rubbing the bags he must have had beneath his eyes, a strong sense of weariness hanging on his shoulders.

"Nah, are you kiddin'?" Sans made a 'pssh' noise. "All the fun times are here, kiddo. Wouldn't miss that for the world."

"... Are you okay, Uncle Sans?"

 _Great. Now everyone but the freakin' flower is doing it._

"I am both fine _and_ dandy at the same time," he lied instantly, crossing his fingers in his pocket. "Dandier than candy and finer than brandy. Come on, you should know better than to worry about me, kid."

"I-I didn't say that..." Frisk started, but it was blatant from her expression that she wasn't telling the truth. "I mean, well, um..."

She kicked her bare feet suddenly at a bit of dust on the cold floor, unable to meet his unblinking gaze.

Sans only gave a little chuckle.

"Come on, kiddo," he shook his head, firmly tucking the blueprints into his pocket and officially retiring for the night. "I think it's past our bedtime. Plus if Tori finds out you're up at this time of night she'll throw the book at me."

"I thought you got to stay up as long as you wanted? She gets mad if you stay up past bedtime?" Frisk blinked.

"No, I mean she'll _literally_ throw a book at me," he grinned, leading the child up the stairs. "Last time it was 'One Hundred and One Uses For Snails'."

"Oh!" Frisk perked up as he held the door open for her. "Wasn't that when you called Miss Helen a bucket of cun-?"

Sans slapped a hand over her mouth just in time.

 _I swear this kid's gonna give me a heart attack._

"Do – _not_ – say that word," he breathed. "Just pretend that you never heard me say that, and for the love of _all that is holy_ don't repeat it in front of Toriel."

"Don't worry," Sans cringed at the sound of Flowey's voice from the mantle. "I'll be _sure_ to not repeat that."

"Thanks Flowey!" Frisk beamed at him, apparently oblivious to the flower's wicked grin.

"Hey, no problemo," he flashed a mischievous smile back. "You know the saying, three can keep a secret if _two of them are dead_."

"... Um, no, I don't think that's how it goes..." Frisk frowned.

"Go to bed, kid," Sans pointed up the stairs in an oddly empty tone. Frisk was quick to comply, giving both the skeleton and the flower a small peck on the cheek before traipsing away to her room, humming a little tune.

Flowey glowered at him through the dark, his face glowing a little.

"... I know what you're doing."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sans crashed onto the couch, curling up and facing away from the still flickering television set.

"It isn't going to work, and we both know it..." Flowey whispered in a mocking tone. "Just give up already."

"Just because Frisk spared you doesn't mean I'll be so nice," he flipped the flower a rude hand gesture without turning around. "I kid you not if you don't go to sleep I will literally force feed you fertilizer."

Flowey opened his mouth to respond, but quickly closed it and muttered darkly to himself before struggling to turn the entire clay pot away from the skeleton.

"Just because you live here doesn't mean anyone wants you here," Sans heard him whisper after a long bout of silence. He could almost hear the twisted smile in his voice. "You're just an entertainment piece. Eventually, you'll just be thrown away. You'll get boring. You'll get bored. You're too powerless to change anything at all. You can't run from yourself forever."

"Which begs the question..." Sans replied softly. "Which one of us are you trying to convince with that?"

And to that, once again, Flowey didn't seem to have an answer.

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A/N

Man

I just wanna write sad Sans :V

Also I'm writing more words and stuff if anyone cares


	3. Nightly Excursions

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The ominously low rumble of distant thunder accompanied Sans's thoughts as he stared out the window. The clouds above were a gloomy shade of grey and pregnant with the potential of oncoming rain, and although it looked dreary a small part of Sans was happy to see it. The grass would smell fresher afterwards, the cold little fog gathering at the windowsill reminded him of the Underground and long nights in Snowdin, and even the air felt cleaner after the rain. It was rare to see anything of the sort beneath the surface, unless one was a frequenter of the falls, and even then it wasn't quite the same. The rain had a peaceful, calming sort of quality to it, one that Sans sincerely wished spread to the rest of the room's inhabitants. There was no real need for him to even be at the meetings aside from keeping his promise to Toriel, and he was even beginning to regret that. At this rate he'd never be finished...

Maybe the little flower had a point...

Sans was swift to punt the idea far from his train of thought, forcing himself to focus on the chatter instead. The little prince didn't know nearly as much as he liked to imply, and if he let his incessant pestering get to him he'd never see the device finalized.

And one way or another, it _needed_ to be completed.

"-ause there is just no point to it, _Janet,_ they have to be gluten free because _some_ of us take care of our children. And _some_ of us, -" the redheaded woman tilted her glasses down to stare Sans directly in the face as he absentmindedly munched on another cookie. "- actually care about what we put in our _bodies_."

"Helen has a point," Sans agreed with her through a mouthful of cookies. "We should cut back on all the sweets-"

" _There_ , you see?"

"-Unless we wanna wind up looking like her," he finished, dusting his fingerbones off on his tee shirt, which had _Number One Mom!_ printed in an odd font on the front.

Sans had never actually seen a woman explode, but if anyone were likely to do so it would be the woman glaring at him from across the table. Helen's stare would have made Medusa flinch, but Sans only looked unblinkingly back at her and tried to ignore the mysteriously giggle-esque coughing fit that was being stifled by a handful of napkins by the woman to his left.

"Should I even bother asking why you're still allowed at our PTA meetings?" Helen's eye twitched hard.

"Maybe because nobody else would vote to kick me off...?" Sans shrugged. It wasn't bright to incite her anger every weekend, but Sans simply couldn't help himself. It brought a smile to his face every time he managed to irritate his overly haughty neighbor.

"That has nothing to do with the issue at hand," Helen brushed a lock of red hair from her face before regaining her composure. "What's important is our _children_ , and what the school board needs to change about the diets and _are you quite finished Martha?_ "

The blonde woman sitting beside Helen was nearly half her size, and was still 'coughing' quite a bit.

"... Is she choking...?" asked Jeanne, the woman beside Sans.

"I warned her not to try the lemon squares," Sans shook his head sadly. "I hope you've got a good alibi, Helen." Oddly enough, this only served to make her coughing fit even worse, and the woman was quick to head out the door with her purse tucked neatly under her arm, wheezing all the way between fits of stifled giggles.

The room was deathly silent after she left. Helen's lips were pursed tighter than a miser's coin pouch, and though her face wasn't flushed her ears were a vibrant shade of pink.

"... _Right,_ " she crossed her arms. "Back to business. _Sans._ "

"What?" he held a palm to his chest indignantly. "What did I do? I'm totally innocent this time."

"Bull- _shit_ ," Helen seethed. "Like you had nothing to do with last week's punch."

"Somebody else must have spiked it," he shrugged.

"And like you had nothing to do with shoving the school children's lunch with Halloween decorations."

"Hey, _I'm_ not the one hanging up decorations of naked skeletons," Sans shook his head, his grin getting harder to hide.

" _And_ like you're not the one who tipped a _tree_ onto my _car!_ "

"Oh, come on, you lived," he replied flippantly. "Plus you had insurance."

"You see?!" Helen threw a hand at him in desperation. "He's not even _denying it!_ "

"I have nothing to deny."

"People like you are why it's hard to raise children in this town!"

" _Bitch I literally had to murder my kid more times than I can count!"_

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"So..." Toriel greeted him at the door, both of them pretending not to see Helen pull into her driveway beside them. "How'd the meeting go?"

"Helen got mad at me for being confused," he slipped his jacket off and hung it carefully on the coat rack beside the door, dusting his slippers off as he did so.

"Why was she mad at you for being confused?"

"I asked why she was inside when the other cows were out grazing."

"Sans!" Papyrus's head popped out of the kitchen doorway, chef's hat dangling precariously from his head. "That isn't a very nice thing to say about the nice neighbor lady."

Toriel might have agreed with him if she wasn't busy trying to fit her knuckles into her mouth to keep from giggling.

She was failing.

Sans was nearly bowled over by the excited Frisk bounding up and hugging him, but he didn't mind. The scent of fresh spaghetti that was probably not mostly burnt this time filled him as he took a long breath. Even Flowey seemed mercifully quiet.

And, for a short time, Sans was content.

The familiar chirrup of crickets outside seemed louder than ever, joined as they were by a multitude of cicadas burrowing away for the early fall weather. Sans stood with both hands clenched tightly in his pockets, his gaze drilling a hole in the floor.

 _You can do this-_

 _This is stupid-_

 _Not that big a deal-_

 _Come on bro it's just one-_

 _Easy peasy lemon squeezy-_

 _You don't deserve her-_

 _Just get it over with-_

San's thoughts bounced around his head like a kicked hornet's nest, and his raised fist stood bare inches away from Toriel's closed bedroom door. He stood like that for several long, heavy moments, before he finally took a deep breath...

And stuck his fists back into his pockets, shaking.

He stalked away downstairs, a small headache bothering him.

"Back to the basement again, are we?"

Sans didn't even bother looking at him as he pried the door open, silently slipping through the dark crevice and closing the door behind him.

"H-hey! Wait a second!" Flowey called after him. The flower stared through the shadows from his place on the mantle, and it was a few seconds before he realized that he was holding his breath, something he didn't even need to do.

"... What," Sans's head poked back out from the basement doorway, one hand firmly on the door. It wasn't even a question.

"... Take me with you?"

"Why would I do that?" Sans deadpanned. His usual smile seemed to have vanished, replaced with a rarely seen heavy, sleepless exhaustion.

"I'm... sorry."

That made Sans pause.

"... No you're not," he said after a moment.

"Alright, I'm not," the flower replied instantly. "But the only person to even take me off this stupid fireplace is Frisk and that's _once_ a day, if I'm lucky. Just... let me help with something."

That alone set off several alarms in his head.

"You," Sans blinked, although without eyes it was a mystery as to exactly how. "You want to... _help._ "

"Yes," Flowey nodded promptly. "Take me with you."

"If you want to help so badly," Sans deadpanned, heading back downstairs. "Then stay out of my hair."

"You don't have any hair."

The door swung shut.

" _Wait!_ " Flowey wailed. "Come on, it's just-just a little _joke_ , throw me a bone here!"

There was no answer.

"... That pun wasn't intentional," he called out, but to no avail. Flowey's head hung as he let out a quiet sigh.

He couldn't really fault the skeleton for disliking his company, after all he'd put him through.

Maybe a second chance was too much to ask for.

"You know... you're not the only one with weird experiments. Alphys was here today."

Like a magic password had been spoken, the basement door slowly swung back open, and this time Sans left the stairs completely in order to stare right through the little flower, arms tightly crossed.

"... You have my complete attention."

Flowey had to fight to keep from showing expression.

Sans had crossed the distance between them before he could even blink.

"Finally, I didn't think you'd ever _why_ are we going outside?" Flowey's tone changed promptly as the skeleton carried him through the front door.

"You said you wanted to come with me," Sans said firmly, a mad little grin growing on his face as he stealthily grabbed his jacket on the way out before locking up. "So you're coming with me. Buckle up."

And with a snap of his fingers, they were gone.

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A/N

I'm always looking to improve my writing, and I'm always open to constructive criticism (or just regular old comments, etc.)

I'm working on the next chapter, should be up within the next few days!


	4. The Experiment

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The howling of the void was overwhelming.

Screaming winds tore and swept past and around them as they fell, whirling and twirling madly inot the depths of the abyss. Flowey felt his whole being compressed, crushed beneath the impossible immensity of the void, squeezing the breath and life out of him as they fell, faster and faster and faster.

And just like that, it was over.

Sans stepped calmly up the gravel drive that was nowhere near their home, completely oblivious (or so it seemed) to the yellow flower's apparent distress. Fowey had to fight to catch his breath, taking deep, greedy gulps of air.

" _Warn_ me the next time you do that, fatbag," Flowey scowled hatefully. "Are you _trying_ to kill me?"

"Maybe," Sans shrugged halfheartedly, spare hand giving the metal door before them a couple of swift knocks, completely ignoring the doorbell. "Guess you can call us almost even now."

The 'house' in question was much larger than their own, albeit composed of some strange alloy that reflected the moonlight. Tall scraping iron fingers grasped at the sky, curiously shaped lightning rods littered all over the roof. The front door that the skeleton banged on was made of the same odd material, but a few shades darker. Flowey silently briefly wondered what exactly it could be made of to give it such odd qualities before a shuffling set of footsteps was heard within, several sets of locks being undone to open the door.

It had just begun to sprinkle when Alphys finally opened the door, mouth a little agape at the bizarre sight.

"... Sans?" she rubbed her eye with one hand, staring at them, readjusting her nightgown uncomfortably. "It's, like, two in the morning; did something happen? Is everyone okay? What's wrong?"

"Nah, nah, nothing like that," Sans answered flippantly, shifting the flower pot from one arm to another, which Alphys was staring even harder at. "Just needed to talk to you about a few things."

"Uh... s-sure," she blinked, opening the metal door a little wider and revealing a fish shaped welcome mat. "But what's this all about? Why do you have... _him_ with you? What's going on?"

Sans seemed uncertain about answering for a split second.

"You, uh... maybe we should sit down first."

Alphys reluctantly greeted the odd pair into her home, and Flowey noted that the entryway was lined with rows and rows of saccharine sweet photographs of Alphys and Undyne spending time together.

If he could have vomited, he would have.

"Come on in," Alphys beckoned them further, although her soft voice seemed to disagree with her. "Undyne is still asleep on the couch, we were just, um, watching old movies."

"I could tell," Sans nodded on the way, the low tone of the television in the room adjacent wafting through. "You have popcorn stuck to your shirt."

Alphys didn't reply, but she did awkwardly try to quickly clean said remnants from her shirt.

"Can-can I get you guys anything?" she asked quietly as she rifled through her many, many kitchen cabinets. "We've got coffee, about twelve different types of tea, not-your-monster's-rootbeer..."

"Tea is fine," Flowey said impatiently, earning a shady look from Sans. This gave Alphys pause.

"... Can you even drink tea?"

"Not important," the flower responded swiftly. "Did you know Sans is working on something? How's your project going, by the way?"

Alphys became very, very uneasy under the utterly unblinking gaze of Sans, suddenly noticing that she was just standing there staring back and awkwardly shuffling off to begin making tea.

"So what exactly have you two been up to?" Sans asked in a low tone, placing Flowey on the table and taking a seat before kicking one slippered foot on the table. "Kinda feel hurt, being left out and all."

"A-ah, well, um..." Alphys tapped her talons together, uncertain of where to keep her eyes, settling on looking down at her feet instead. "I-I was going to tell you eventually, it's just that-that I wanted it to be, y'know... a surprise-"

"SHE'S BUILDING ME A NEW BODY," Flowey screamed at the top of his lungs, causing them both to jump and sending one of the teacups smashing into the floor.

They both glowered at him sharply.

"... Sorry," the flower said without a hint of remorse. "I just can't stand watching you two pathetically dancing around the issue. Now there's no problem."

Alphys's face was clearly heated, but Sans didn't even blink.

"Where is it?" Undyne stumbled into the room, glowing magical spear in one hand as she nearly tripped over herself. "What need's killin'?"

"Hi Undyne," Sans gave a little wave. "Just Sansy. Where's your shirt?"

Nobody said anything.

Undyne slowly, slowly retreated, leaving them all in incredibly uncomfortable silence.

"... I think that went well," Flowey grinned.

Alphys was holding her head in her hands, steam nearly coming off of her face.

"Flowey, stay here," Sans stood up just as Alphys remembered the screaming tea kettle. "Say, Al, why don't you show me this fancy new project, eh?"

"Why do you-" she started, but quickly nodded from the strange look he was giving her. "O-oh! Yes, of course; it's in the lab, I'll be glad to show you."

"Why do I have to stay?" Flowey barked after them in irritation as he sat between the untouched cups of tea.

"Somebody's gotta entertain Undyne," Sans flipped his hands without looking back, following the scientist down the hall.

Flowey had several choice words as response, but Sans didn't hear any of them as they walked, traversing slowly from the comfortably carpeted floor into the smooth linoleum of the high ceiling of Alphy's lab.

It was nearly identical to the lab that she had in the underground, and if Sans didn't know any better he'd say that she had the whole thing transferred. However, the place was a bit smaller than her old lab, there was a humongous wide screen emerging from one wall with a number of dvd cases littered around it, and the workbench beside it was covered with a large white tablecloth with little pink daises on the edges, hiding something bulky.

"Nice place," Sans nodded appreciatively as the mechanical door whooshed open. "You guys have been busy."

"Oh, th-this is nothing," Alphys gave a weak laugh, dropping into a swiveling chair before the blank television screen.

"Compared to...?"

Alphys coughed into her hand, looking away again.

"I-I'm guessing you're kinda miffed about not telling you about the, um... 'project'," Alphys twiddled her thumbs, struggling to maintain eye contact.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Sans leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "I'm sure you have a good reason for trusting him, and I'm all ears," he pointed to the side of his head with one fingerbone.

"It's... not exactly, er, _conventional_..." Alphys began, twirling her fingers. "It's not as simple as making a robot body or something to stick him in."

"So spill," Sans said, one foot tapping against the floor.

"Didn't Flowey say that you were working on something as well?" she blinked, mind racing.

"Explain yours and I'll explain mine."

It wasn't often that she had seen Sans all business, and it was beginning to unnerve her. Alphys took a long, deep breath, steeling herself, before finally standing, walking over to the covered object, and jerking the cloth away.

Underneath was a body.

An actual, flesh and blood monster's body, that looked as if it might have even been Toriel and Asgore's lost child.

Probably because it was.

"... Oh my god."

"I can explain," Alphys held up one hand quickly.

"Al, what were you _thinking_?" Sans's breath seemed to catch in his chest. "Are you _insane_? Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?"

"If-if I can just figure out how to transfer his consciousness," Alphys said breathlessly as Sans stalked around the motionless white body of Asriel. "If I can manage to combine his cognitive being with his soul, I-I can give him a real life again, I-I just..."

"This is not a good plan, Alphys," Sans threw the cloth back over the body, feeling slightly sick.

"I ruined his _life,_ " she bit her lower lip. "I _made_ Asriel into what he is. If-if I can just _fix_ this mistake, I-I just..."

She clasped and unclasped her hands uselessly, searching for the right words.

"... I've made so, so many mistakes, Sans..." she said softly. "I have to make things right."

Sans let out a long, slow breath through his teeth, remaining silent for a moment.

"So I'm guessing you're not working on a project of a similar caliber," Alphys gave a weak little chuckle, regaining some of her composure.

Sans didn't answer.

"... What _are_ you working on, exactly?"

Sans's hands somehow found themselves back in his jacket pockets, and he shifted from one position to another.

"... Sans?"

"... Phase distortion generator."

"Oh, god _dammit_ Sans!"

Sans said nothing, but now it was his turn to try to stare a hole in his foot.

"Come on, Sans," Alphys wrung her hands together. "And you say _I'm_ the one performing dangerous experiments – do you _want_ to end up like-like... _him_?"

"We all have our burdens to bear," Sans said quietly. "You have yours. I have mine."

"Yes, but-but there are some things that just _can't_ be fixed," Alphys said hurriedly. "I don't want you to wind up like him, just-just a bad dream!"

"He isn't _gone,_ " Sans snapped angrily. "I know he isn't."

"Gaster is more than gone, Sans..." Alphys frowned. "This isn't just about you or him, that thing could destroy the entire world-"

"So _what_ about the world?" he threw up his arms in exasperation. "You think it's going to stay the same for long? That there just aren't going to be _any_ more resets?"

"... I've run the diagnostics," she replied intently. "There haven't been any events in the timeline since..."

"Since we left the Underground," he finished for her. "That doesn't mean it can't still happen."

"Sans..." Alphys started, but he cut her off.

"I _need_ to fix this," he insisted. "I have to do this, Al. Gaster is the only one who completely knew about stabilizing the timelines. If we could just get him _back-_ "

"I can't condone this." Alphys crossed her arms, tucking her hands into her armpits unhappily as she faced away from him. "But I know that nothing I say is going to stop you, no matter how dangerous it is. So, I guess... good luck."

"... Thanks, Al."

She turned to face him, questioningly, but he was already gone.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Sorry it's taken so long for updates! My craptop exploded, so that kinda set me back a bit.


	5. Don't Forget

0-0-0-0-0

Sans stood with one hand poised in a fist against Toriel's bedroom door, knees locked to keep him still. He waited for what felt like hours, mind numbly rifling through possible outcomes as he thought. His hand was slightly shaking as he silently stuffed it back in his pocket, quietly stalking away back down the stairs and making his way toward the makeshift laboratory in the basement.

There was simply too much work to do first. At least, that's what he was attempting to convince himself of.

The bulky machine had one gleaming metal corner sticking out from beneath the tarp carelessly tossed over it, and Sans lazily yanked the rest off before tossing the tarp in the corner. He gathered his strewn tools as he set to work on the cylindrical device, forcing his mind to stay on track regardless of how badly he wanted to yawn and crash onto the couch instead. Thick, coiling rods protruded from the top, winding through the machine and into the open center. The whole thing was shaped almost like a standing bullet, the solid steel door hanging open so that Sans could accurately adjust several loose wires.

Despite his attempts to stay awake, he found himself stifling multiple yawns as time stretched on. He could feel his head drooping as he struggled to screw a small metal plate over one of the exposed portions of the phase distortion generator, glancing occasionally back and forth between the hefty machine and the layers and layers of blueprints that he had sketched out, some with illegible scribbles and most written in hands. If he could just stay awake, there was still so much yet to do.

It would only take a while longer, he just had to keep reminding himself as-

-he walked silently down the corridor, arms full of papers as he struggled to keep the too large lab coat from falling off of his shoulders.

"Are you sure this is gonna work, doc?" Sans's voice echoed as he stalked beside the tall figure, although Gaster did not immediately respond. The skeleton only adjusted his glasses with a single hand, a large hole giving Sans an odd sight as they walked, monsters in similar attire as the pair almost tripping over themselves to stay out of Doctor Gaster's path.

"I have many doubts," the low tone of the tall skeleton rang out. "This is not one of them."

"But-but," Sans struggled to keep up with Gaster's long strides, "The last experiment with the DT extractor didn't manage to-"

"Whether or not the experiment survived is unimportant," he interrupted as they turned a corner, going through a pair of double doors. "It provided the necessary data that we needed to extract the remaining human souls and efficiently contain them. We are so close to freedom, Sans; we should not keep the king waiting any longer than necessary."

Sans bit his tongue as they walked, uneasy about voicing his concerns.

He could still hear the subject's last terrible moments bouncing in his head as the human was... 'harvested' for it's soul. Sans fought back a shudder, forcing himself to repeat Gaster's mantra.

All progress comes at a price.

"I just..." Sans started, shuffling the papers in his arms uncomfortably. "Is this really the most ethical way to save monsterkind?"

"It is the most _efficient,_ " Gaster said grimly. "That is all that matters."

"At the very least we could apply some form of... sedative, or-or _something,_ " Sans was almost pleading as they approached the large empty room, lights flickering on at their approach.

"Yes, understandable," Gaster nodded once. "At least that would quiet that unearthly racket."

"I meant because it's obviously _painful,_ " Sans frowned as they began flicking numerous switches and buttons, the large, almost skull shaped machine humming to life with a light blue glow emanating from within. "The least we could do is-"

"What?" Doctor Gaster snapped, turning sharply to the shorter skeleton. "Show them _mercy_?" he spat. "The kind that they never showed _us?_ Don't make me _laugh._ "

"I-I'm just saying..." he stood his ground, grip tightening on the bundle of papers. "We shouldn't make them suffer any more than necessary. It-it's not _right._ "

Gaster didn't reply immediately, but he did let out a long, quiet sigh. Five small cylindrical containers slowly slid up from their slots built into the floor, each one glowing a different color. Sans could almost _feel_ the souls crying out for release, the eerie glow radiating from the prisons casting long shadows over them.

"It isn't about what's right and wrong, Sans," Gaster explained slowly. "What we do here is going to save every monster in the underground. If a few humans have to be sacrificed for the greater good, then so be it."

"But the last one didn't even _fight,_ " Sans argued, forcefully placing the stack of papers onto one of the desks. "He couldn't have been older than twelve, and we just-"

"Prevented him from doing any more damage," he clenched one holed fist, adjusting his black necktie with the other as he distractedly began to run diagnostics at the large monitor. "Do you even recall what the last one did to the head of the royal guard? How many _died_ because of _him_?" Gaster jabbed a thumb at the yellow glowing soul of the last human.

Sans couldn't find the right words.

"We do what we must, Sans." Gaster's voice was softer, but not any less bitter. "All progress comes at a price."

"It's not worth it if that price is the lives of the innocent, doc."

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Little bit of a dream sequence with Sans and Gaster. Getting back into the swing of writing, shouldn't be too much longer on the next (and hopefully larger) chapter. :D


	6. Night Terrors

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 _This simply isn't ethical._

 _Sans._

 _It's not about what's ethical, it's about what's efficient._

 _I can't keep doing this; you can't keep making me do this!_

 _Sans._

 _No! I mean it this time, I-I can't do this anymore, consequences be damned!_

 _Sans! Just put it down, we can still talk about this!_

 _No! No more! No more dead kids!_

 _SANS!_

"Wha-?" Sans screamed and jerked awake, eyes rolling wildly as he tried to force himself out of the nightmare.

"Sans?" Papyrus held his shoulder worriedly. The skeleton was wearing shorts and a long white shirt, his face tight with concern.

"What happened?" he gripped his pounding head in one hand, sitting up on the couch.

"You fell asleep in the basement," Papyrus explained. "Again."

"No, I mean after that..." Sans said slowly, looking around. "... Wait, how did I get in the living room?"

"I... carried you upstairs," his brother frowned, but a great deal of the worry had vanished from his face. "You started having a nightmare, or night... terrors, or something, I suppose; shouting in your sleep. I-I was worried."

Sans blinked.

"Everything's fine," he gave a weak chuckle. "Just a bad dream is all. It happens."

"Well, it happens if you stay awake for days on end," Papyrus scolded him lightly, but he seemed to be a little relieved. "Just... promise me you'll take a break from your work, or-or _something._ You make me worry, Sans."

"Okay, alright," he replied immediately to pacify him. "Can't have people thinking I'm a workaholic. They'll think you're rubbing off on me."

"You could use the good influence," Papyrus chortled. His gaze softened, and his frown wrinkled back. "Just... take it easy for a little while. Promise?"

"Alright, yes, I _promise_ " Sans nodded sleepily before letting his head fall back onto the couch. "Tomorrow we'll go on a picnic or something, just enjoy the day out. It'll be great."

"Of course it will be great," Papyrus scoffed as be began ascending the flight of stairs to his room. "I'm going to be there."

Sans laughed and shook his head.

"Good night, brother."

"G'night, Paps."

Sans sat in the darkness for a long while, his mind still racing furiously and his head pounding from the inside out. He held his chin in deep contemplation, staring into the cold fireplace for what felt like hours.

Flowey watched as he paced the room again and again before finally creeping into the basement and vanishing from the world once more.

0-0-0-0-0

The day was sunny and bright, a pleasantly warm breeze rolling over the hills and rustling Sans's jacket. He held his hands in his jacket as they walked, Papyrus swinging his arms in wide arcs as he carried a carefully packed basket in front of everyone. It even had a plaid picnic blanket poking out of one corner, jostled by Papyrus and the breeze. Frisk, wearing her favorite striped sweater, was almost jogging to keep up with them, grinning widely as she held Toriel's hand. Papyrus was deep in conversation with Toriel about something or other, but Sans just couldn't manage to keep up with it.

Sans felt a creeping sensation on the back of his neck, and twisted around out of instinct.

He frowned, resisting the urge to rub his eyes. Everything was going to be fine. It was a bright, sunny day. Hardly a cloud in sight. He just had to keep telling himself that everything was perfectly normal.

He knew the feeling of being watched, and everything he felt told him that there was someone watching, just out of sight.

And every time he turned around, there was nobody there.

0-0-0-0-0

Sans pored over the blueprints in the fluorescent light of the basement, resisting the urge to rub his eyes.

A small sliver of steam rose up from his cup of hot tea, and he twirled it as he cupped it absentmindedly. His finger trailed down a long list of numbers and he mentally circled an equation before lazily drifting over to the schematics. It had taken so long to sketch out the rough drafts, the immense amount of planning and countless hours spent ensuring, hoping that it would work were beginning to take their toll. Sans forced himself to keep going, jotting down little notes in hands here and there across the paper.

He stifled his umpteenth yawn, his mind feeling numb.

Was it even the right thing to do? Was it really even possible?

Maybe Gaster wasn't exactly the _best_ influence, but he was still brilliant; perhaps even the most ingenious and clever soul that Sans had ever met, and that was counting Alphys. Since selling even a small number of her patents after making it to the overworld, Alphys had practically been raking in money. He wondered briefly if Gaster might have ever done the same before shaking his head lightly. No, it was unlikely. The doctor was far too proud, too reclusive to ever let anyone see his private work.

Aside from Alphys and Sans, of course.

Sans stared down, looking a mile through the blueprints.

Then again, there were things that even Gaster kept to himself; things that he would never share with another living soul. Sans reminded himself why bringing him back was so important, why he _had_ to do this. Granted, there hadn't necessarily been any more resets, but that didn't mean that they were just going to stop forever...

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to stay calm.

He took a long, silent drought from his now lukewarm tea, drifting in a sea of thoughts, a great number of which were unpleasant.

It would just take a little more work. It would only be a-

matter of time before the kid fell.

Sans breathed heavily, feeling sweat on his head as he swung his hand palm open toward the dark child, flinging an entire row of flying, swiveling bones at her. He barely managed to teleport backwards away from her downward slice, knife gleaming in the light through the judgement hall's stained windows. He brought up his fist swiftly, lifting up an invisible force. At the same time, a pair of floating white Gaster blasters materialized, already humming with power before releasing a double blast of screaming white plasma.

The spot the child had been mere moments before was reduced to a scorched crater, yet miraculously she still managed to slip just out of reach, that same empty, mocking smile etched onto her face. Sans's breathing grew heavier as he roughly jerked away from her next upward knife swing, his heartbeat so loud it was like a drum in his ears. She was relentless in her attacks, perfectly timed in every swing, like she just _knew_ what he was going to do before he even did it. He teleported time and again, each time the delay between her attack and his dodge growing further and further apart.

"You, uh..." he started, stalling for time. "You really like swinging that thing around, huh?"

She didn't respond verbally, opting instead to make a wide lunging swing that barely managed to graze the edge of his jacket. "Hey, take it easy, kiddo. You might put somebody's eye out with that."

The child did not waver. She didn't even blink as she swung at him again, forcing him to teleport just out of reach. It was getting harder and harder to stay out of her range while also summoning glowing bones as both a shield and weapon; she nimbly dodged over each row of bones that cracked the floor, deftly swept aside every projectile he threw at her.

A creeping sensation began crawling at the base of his neck.

It was almost like she was _playing_ with him...

"You really think – huff – that I'm just gonna roll over?" Sans struggled to remain upright, the sheer exhaustion from every reset weighing heavily on his shoulders. "Think I'm just gonna stand around and take it?"

"I think you're gonna die today," she responded quietly, her grin growing as she brought the knife down-

-ns! Sans!"

Sans kicked wildly, curled into the fetal position as he screamed.

He fell to the floor with a _whump!_ Sans strained to keep his eyes from rolling noticing as most of his tools clattered to the floor, released from their glowing blue aura. He fought to sit up, keeping his back straight. An uncomfortably loud _bang_ resounded through the basement as the phase distortion generator landed, creating several small cracks.

"K-kid?"

Frisk was clutching at his jacket tightly, eyes wide with terror as tears rolled down her cheeks. He held a palm to his forehead, feeling an uneasy heat. Her mouth was clenched tightly, and the color had all but drained from her face.

"U-uncle Sans," Frisk began, her voice quavering. "Are y-you o-okay?"

"Am _I_ okay?" he wiped his cheek with one hand, putting on his best poker face. "Yeah, yeah, of course."

"Y-you were yelling p-pretty loudly..." she finally released him, looking up at him even though he was sitting. "I-I thought s-something bad had happened to you, I-I...!"

"Aw, geez," he pulled her into a slow hug, trying not to focus on how his work had probably just been set back by weeks, if not months. "Kid- kiddo, hey, it's gonna be okay, Uncle Sansy is fine. Just had a-a bad dream is all, nothing to worry about."

Frisk hugged him back tightly, face buried in his jacket. He patted the back of her head, letting out a long sigh. He could already feel the nightmare slipping away to the back of his mind. There was simply no way that a kid like Frisk could ever possibly be something as disturbing as _that_ one. She just had too large of a heart to harm a fly. Perhaps if he kept telling himself that he might even begin to believe it.

"Come on, buddy. Let's get you back to bed."

"Um..." Frisk shifted. "Uncle Sans? It's-it's almost eleven."

"At night?"

"Uh... no."

"... Shit."  
"Uncle Sans!"

"Don't tell Tori I said that," he grinned weakly, pulling away and standing.

"Tori heard," Toriel's voice drifted down from the top of the stairs behind him.

Sans witheld several more choice words in favor of cringing.

Today was going to be a long day.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Sorry it's taking so long on these chapters, I've been crazy busy with moving, so I haven't had much chance to sit down and really write, but now I'm getting back into the groove. I've got more chapters coming out this week. I love to hear your thoughts on the chapters!

Moar coming soon! :D


	7. A Sinking Feeling

0-0-0-0-0

"Come on, Al. Just this one favor."

"No! Absolutely not!" Alphys crossed her arms, readjusting her glasses. She was bent over her 'project' studiously, inspecting the motionless pupils of Asriel's eyes with a small handheld flashlight and taking notes. "It's a disaster waiting to happen; I can't believe that you even keep that _thing_ in your house! And you wanted me to work on it _first,_ because...? _"_

"Funny," Sans leaned against the metal counter top, ignoring her question. "I could say the same about your project."

" _My_ project is less likely to result in the end of the universe," she rolled her eyes, ticking something off her list and scribbling down a memo. "Pass me that?"

Sans eyed the smoking purple beaker that she pointed at with her pencil, studying it dubiously.

"... Before the body turns to dust, preferably?" Alphys said with a hint of impatience.

"Beats me how you managed to replicate him so well," he shrugged, watching as she poured the entire contents down the body's open mouth. Her 'project' shuddered and convulsed for a moment, a horrible imitation of life shaking for a spare few seconds. Sans tried not to look away, feeling uncomfortable around the thing.

"As I usually do with my work," she said quietly. "A bit of science, a bit of magic."

"I guess you could say it took a lot of DET-"

"Don't even make the joke," she held up a hand.

"So," he said conversationally, pulling his jacket a little tighter to fend off an odd shiver. "I'm guessing you gathered DNA from Asgore and Toriel and jammed them together?"

"Perfect genetic replication is _hardly_ so simple as 'jamming it together' Sans!" Alphys frowned. "But, essentially, yes. I duplicated the prince to the best of my capabilities. Before... you know. That. If I can just take care of the rest of the problem..."

"Which would be...?" Sans rolled his hand, never taking his eyesockets off her.

Alphys covered the body with a thick white sheet, pulling it completely up until nothing but an odd lump was left on the operation table. She pulled at her hands compulsively, chewing her bottom lip.

"There's a problem." he guessed, and she said nothing. "One you don't wanna talk about."

"I-I can keep Flowey- I mean, Asriel's body, um, in stasis..." she began uneasily. "So long as I continue injecting it with the formula periodically, it's safer than cryostasis... but..."

She rubbed her eyes under her square glasses tiredly, and Sans felt a sudden pang of empathy for her.

"But every new injection makes his body more unstable," he mused aloud.

"I don't know how much longer it's going to last!" Alphys paced back and forth, cleaning her glasses with the edge of her lab coat. "There has to be a method of transferring the consciousness from the current host body to the new host; I know it can be done, I just have to find out how to reverse the effects without..."

"Without destroying either the host or the consciousness," Sans finished for her. He held a hand over his mouth, thinking.

"I'm at my wit's end, Sans," she rubbed her eyes again tiredly. "I keep telling him 'just one more day', again and again, like-like maybe if I just keep giving him hope that I'll stumble across the answer, and it's just...!"

She mimed shaking something in midair, and he nodded once.

"You know?" she finished in exasperation.

"I know."

"There might be a way."

Alphys was in the middle of cleaning her glasses again and froze.

"Maybe if we tried-"

" _No!_ " she barked, causing him to jump. "No, no no! Not that, not again; not ever, ever again!"

"Jeez, just hear me out, Alphys..." Sans struggled to remain upright.

"Absolutely not!" she stamped her foot. "The last vial of extracted DETERMINATION-"

"Might be _exactly_ what we need to efficiently transfer Flowey's consciousness into the new host," Sans urged her, but she only shook her head furiously.

"No, no. Not after the last fiasco. I-I could never, ever live with myself if I allowed a sludge puddle with his mind trapped inside it to live a life like that, barely on the edge of death. This time," she said, pushing her glasses up with one talon. "This time it's going to be different. This time, we don't have to rely on Doctor Gaster's work. This time I'm going to ensure that everything goes accordingly to plan."

"But what about any of this is better than what Gaster could do if we had him here? What makes this time any different?"

"This time... nobody dies."

Sans watched her miniature tirade, more stunned than anything. At first, he wasn't certain what to feel. He felt a little numb. He felt a little cold. He felt a little hungry. But as they ascended the basement and the warm lights of the evening greeted him, Sans let out a quiet chuckle. Humorless laughter was something that was both fragile and disturbing. So long as even a single person can laugh, over eve the silliest of things, then it was all worth the effort. So Sans laughed. He stood across from her unperturbed waiting for the cool wafting moment of truth. He just had to keep retelling himself that. Had to hope against hope that this project wouldn't wind up like the other failed projects that got 'decommissioned' and salvaged.

"I'm sorry, Sans. I-I can't leave it for long enough to-"

"I'll be in the lounge," Sans said aloud, no longer paying attention to where she was even at. He had already half teleported out of the basement and within a spare few seconds he was raiding liquor cabinets back home to his delight. A few bottles here and there lined neatly and primly according to color and release date. Sans telikinetically popped a crystal decanter and began calmly pouring himself a drink amidst the floating glass.

It would appear that he was going to be on his own. Then again, that's how it usually was.

0-0-0-0-0

How it almost always was in dreams of this caliber.

Alone.

He stalked down the frigid empty streets of Snowdin, snow piled up around buildings and streets covered in thin sheets of ice. Sans felt a trickle of snow seep into his slippers as he trudged, the only noise the cruel howling of the wind as he slowly but surely trundled through the waves of snow. Gravity and weather conspired against him, but he carried on regardless, fingers feeling numb in his pockets. He could still hear her last words ringing in his head, like she had just said them moments ago and not after days and days of solitary silence. Sans pushed on the boarded up window of a small shop out of curiosity, and the wood crumbled almost instantly. He dared a peek inside and caught a dark flash of hair before the wooden slot was roughly jammed back into place.

Sans released a quiet sigh through his newly acquired red attire, letting it wrap around his neck a couple of times. He stuffed his hands back in his pockets, continuing his search for something, anything that might have been able to help. At this point resources were running thin. Even if just the tavern keeper could pool together for a few minutes to share information it might not have been a wasted trip. Nothing he did would undo what the child had done to the other monsters.

Sans's grip on Papyrus's scarf grew tighter.

Nothing he did would undo what the child had done to Papyrus.

He wished that he could tell him now how much he missed him, that sobbing into his dusty scarf wasn't delaying the inevitable. Tell him that it was all going to be okay. Somehow, someway they were all going to make it out.

And to have that all ripped away from him again and again...

"You know how it ends."

Sans stood, no longer in Snowdin. The tiled hallway floors seemed to shift around beneath him, tilting uncomfortably. Within moments it was difficult to decipher whether or not he was on the floor or ceiling. Sans looked up to see the standing visage of Frisk, dangling from invisible wires with an upside down smile. Behind her, beckoning, was the ephemeral black mass whirling around and between them, occasionally leaving imprints of a ghostly white, cracked face. The creeping tendrils of shadow emanating from the spectral image of a twisted Ghaster reached out for him, scraping by his face with a noise like dragged nails over a chalkboard.

"You _know_ how it ends!" the familiar voice screamed at him from behind the wall, from just beneath the creaking upwards floorboards. A multitude of voices, varying from aged to youthful pleading the same thing. Accusing. "You know how it ends. You know how it ends. You know how it ends."

Sans could almost feel the finger bones scraping the bending wood around him, suffocating him in the twisted hallways that went on forever and ever and-

Sans froze in place, along with several of his floating tools.

A couple of loud _clangs_ resounded as the remnants of his floating laboratory dropped to the ground. Sans sighed as he surveyed the wreckage. Sooner or later this nightmares of his were going to cause him to accidentally cave in the ceiling. Literal piles of tools had clumped together in midair, and he watched in mild dismay as the remainders floating in midair began to fall, noisily clanging against the floor. He silently berated himself, half glad that at least the generator hadn't been damaged this time.

The empty liquor bottle rolled against his foot, and he stretched, aching as he realized he'd fallen asleep sitting on the stool in his lab yet again. His back moaned in protest, but he forced himself to stretch until the ache in his bones began to ease from the awkward position that he'd drifted off in. The remnants of the dream flashed in his eyes and he rubbed them with one hand, struggling to remember what it was that had bothered him so much. He reached for the scarf around his neck, only to vaguely remember that it had only been part of the distant dream as well. Sans paused for a long moment, a sinking feeling deep in his stomach.

"How long was I out?" he grumbled to himself and rubbed his scalp. Sans sorely wished for a wristwatch, as there was no clock or other method of telling time in the basement. He trundled up the stairs after a minute more of stretching, his mind feeling oddly numb. Checking the grandfather clock in the living room, he discovered that it was a little past noon; and oddly enough, nobody answered when he called out to them. Papyrus wasn't in his room, Frisk didn't come running when he called, Toriel was nowhere to be seen. An uneasy feeling began to tickle the back of his neck. At long last he found a clue as to where they might have gone in the small, almost unnoticed note that had been left on the kitchen table, written in Toriel's tiny, pristine handwriting.

 _Papyrus, Frisk and I shall be attending her school function. Saved you a little something special. Enjoy!_

Sans blinked, reading over the note a couple of times before checking the fridge.

Inside was a single slice of pie, complete with a little dollop of whipped topping. He grinned, slowly shaking his head.

There wasn't time to snack. There was hardly time to sleep.

The machine was waiting.

0-0-0-0-0

"Al. Yeah. It's me," Papyrus said in a hushed tone, one gloved hand covering the receiver of the phone. "Are you sure? No. Of course. Don't worry. I'm glad you finally told me; I'll be there soon."

"Something the matter?" Toriel hummed as Papyrus pocketed his cellphone. She hardly took her eyes off the group of children chatting amicably around the table, the bunched up adults discussing their own issues not far away.

"It's Sans," Papyrus said after a moment of discomfort. "I think he's trying something... dangerous."

Toriel tore her eyes away completely, focusing entirely on him.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Alphys sounded pretty upset about whatever it is he's doing, so it must be something big. I'm heading back to the house to check on him-"

"I'm right behind you," Toriel said without a moment's hesitation. "Just give me a moment and Frisk and I will join you."

She strode off toward the group of children, where Frisk sat in the middle giving a detailed description of the underground to a handful of listening kids. Papyrus held a hand over his mouth, thinking.

"A moment might be more than we have..." he mused quietly. "Oh, Sans. What have you gotten up to this time?"

It was barely a second later that the ground shook terribly. Then, the power went out.

Papyrus began to get a sinking feeling that he knew why.

0-0-0-0-0


	8. The Dark Day

0-0-0-0-0

The ride back home was a swift and quiet one.

Frisk looked on through the backseat of Papyrus's bright red sport's car, witnessing people milling about outside their homes. Toriel and Papyrus had rushed out of the school's parent teacher conference bare seconds after the power had gone out, and from the looks of it nearly every other house in town was out of power at the same time. Papyrus's knuckles were tight on the steering wheel, and hardly anyone dared breath to break the silence.

"... Um, Papyrus? Is... is everything okay?" Frisk asked at last as Papyrus turned a corner. Both he and Toriel shared a look, the brief sort of look that adults tended to share around Frisk when they didn't particularly feel like keeping her in the loop.

"Everything is going to be peachy," Papyrus said without much conviction.

"So what's going on?" she pressed, folding her hands in her lap and leaning forward between the two. "Why did we have to leave all of a sudden? Is something happening? Did something already happen? What happened to the power? Is everyone in the city out of electricity? How-"

"Oh my goodness, my child," Toriel let out a weak chuckle. "I don't think I've ever heard you so talkative. Everything is going to be alright."

Frisk looked between the two, slightly embarrassed, but couldn't manage to glean anything from her observation.

"... Is something about all this about Uncle Sans not coming home for so long last night?"

"Frisk..." Papyrus said through clenched teeth. "I'm sure that this-this _power outage_ is purely coincidental. Sans wouldn't cause – well, not deliberately cause this level of chaos."

Frisk fell silent once again, looking back and forth between the two. They seemed to be keeping _something_ to themselves, she just couldn't quite decipher precisely what without more information.

Toriel seemed to sense her discomfort, and shook her head.

"You have absolutely nothing to worry about, my child," Toriel forced a small smile. "This sort of thing happens all the time in human cities, right? Downed power lines, electricity difficulties-"

"But the whole town all at once?" Frisk mused aloud. "I just think Uncle Sans-"

"Sans had _nothing to do with this,_ " Papyrus said dangerously.

Both Frisk and Toriel sat in stunned silence. Neither of them had ever heard Papyrus take that particularly cold tone with anyone, let alone either of them. Even Papyrus himself seemed to catch it a moment too late, shifting uneasily in his seat as they finally pulled into the drive.

"... Forgive me," he cleared his throat after a minute of extremely uncomfortable silence. "I'm just... I'm worried about him."

"As are we," Toriel nodded, the slight already forgiven. "Sans is just as much family to us as he is to you; just remember that we're here for both of you."

Papyrus looked as if a heavy weight were on his shoulders, and he let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"... Thank you, Lady Asgore," he bowed his head. "It's just, he's been so..."

Papyrus mimed shaking something in the air and held his head.

"I'm worried."

"You don't think he's relapsing, do you?"

"I think he's got some bad habits that refuse to die down."

"He has already made so much progress though; perhaps there is something else bothering him that just hasn't cropped up in conversation yet."

"I doubt he'd bring _that_ up in friendly conversation."

"You'd be surprised by how much he tells me."

"And you'd be surprised by how little he tells me," Papyrus huffed.

"I think I get what's going on."

Both Toriel and Papyrus blinked, having forgotten that Frisk was even in the backseat due to her lack of involvement for the last few minutes.

"Uncle Sans... he's not doing so great right now," she frowned, her brows furrowed in thought. "But-but you both still wanna help him, even if you feel like you don't exactly know how."

"Tiny human," Papyrus twisted a little, frowning. "It's not that I doubt your capability, but perhaps this situation is best handled by me and me alone. Speaking of which," he popped open the car door. "I'll talk to him."

Frisk made to follow him, but Toriel shook her head.

"Not this time, my child."

Frisk watched him go, her mind racing.

Just what was going on?

0-0-0-0-0

Papyrus reassured himself again and again that Sans would be laying on the living room couch, one arm draped like always, lazily over the back of the sofa. Probably snoring away, half covered by his jacket. He just had to keep confirming that this was exactly what he was going to find.

At least until he entered the house and Sans was nowhere to be found.

A knot began to twist in Papyrus's stomach as he made for the basement door. He had almost reached it by the time he was interrupted.

"Pssst."

Papyrus blinked, looking about for the source of the noise. To his surprise, Flowey had somehow gotten down from his usual perch on the mantle above the fireplace, sitting glumly in his ceramic pot on the floor.

"Oh! Hello, friend of Frisk," Papyrus forced a smile. "Why are you on the carpet? I'm a bit too busy to play right now-"

"This isn't a game," Flowey frowned, beckoning him forward with one of his leafy little limbs. "Sans is in the basement. Has been for a while now."

Papyrus knelt down in front of the plant as he spoke, an odd expression on his face.

"I assumed as much..." Papyrus let out a sigh through his teeth. He started off for the door, but was stalled yet again.

"H-hey!" Flowey said just as he started to pull open the heavy metal door. "Wait up just a second!"

"I need to make sure Sans is alright," he assured him. "I'll be back in just-"

"Take me with you!"

Papyrus blinked, a little put off.

"Wouldn't you rather stay up here? Out of earshot?" Papyrus said hurriedly and blinked.

"Uh... no?" Flowey stared intently at the skeleton, who was looking back and forth between the flower and the dark basement. "I'm, er... concerned about fatb- I mean, _Sans_ as well."

"Odd," he said slowly. "I was under the impression that you were incapable of emotions."

"Oh, just pick me up already!" Flowey snapped. "I've been dying to find out what's been going on down there every night!"

"You can – wait, _every_ night?" Papyrus repeated. "Sans has been sneaking off to his workshop every single night? I suppose that would explain why he's always so exhausted..."

"Please?" the flower motioned for him. "Just carry me down with you. I need to see this for myself."

Papyrus shifted awkwardly but obliged regardless. At long last he descended the steps to the dark basement, spare flashlight dug out of the kitchen cabinet, watching the shadows clinging to the corners of the stairs. He nearly tripped a couple of times over something rough and hard, which turned out to be what appeared to be scraps of torn metal.

"Sans?" Papyrus called out worriedly, shining the flashlight around with one sweeping motion and tucking Flowey closer to himself with his other arm. "Sans? Sans! Where are you?"

He adjusted the setting of the torch to a brighter spotlight beam, and stood in shock at the sight.

The basement was a complete disaster.

Long, jagged shards of steel stuck rigidly out of one wall, and there was a long, dragging scorch mark on the floor. Papyrus followed the trail with his light, a prickling sensation at the back of his neck. It led nearly ten feet away and over to the collapsed figure of Sans against one wall, crumpled into the fetal position and unmoving.

"Oh my god, _Sans!_ "

Papyrus had Flowey securely on the floor in a heartbeat and was numbly shaking his brother in terror the next, burn marks covering a good portion of his body. Several holes had been burned straight through his coat, along with a nasty streak over his right eye.

"Sans! Sans! Oh god, I think he needs CPR!"

Papyrus froze.

" _Oh no, I forgot I don't have lips!"_

Papyrus's shouting seemed to have done the trick though, as Sans stirred in his grasp. He let out a raspy cough, blinking dully.

"Is something burning in here?" he wheezed, a small puff of smoke escaping his mouth. "Or is it just me?"

"Oh, thank goodness," Papyrus squeezed him tightly to his chest. "You're still acting like a smartass, so you can't be _that_ badly hurt." His tone was lighter, but still tense.

"What happened?" Sans asked, eyes adjusting to the dark.

"That's what I was going to ask _you,_ " his brother pulled away, keeping one hand on him to help him stabilize. "I got a call from Alphys, she sounded really worried that you were going to try something dangerous; and apparently, she was absolutely right, what if you'd been _killed_?"

"I must have accidentally overloaded a circuit," Sans guessed aloud. He dusted himself off uselessly, silently noting that one of his slippers seemed to have been completely singed off.

"Yeah, about that," Papyrus shifted awkwardly, helping him stand. "The power's out."

"I had a feeling that might happen," Sans chuckled. "Don't worry, I've got a backup generator in the garage-"

"No, Sans. I mean the entire _city_ is out of power."

Sans stared.

"Uh..." he shrugged slowly, trying not to grin. "O-oops?"

"Sans," he pinched between his eyes. "Toriel would _kill_ me if I told her you knocked out the town's power."

"So you're... not going to tell her?" Sans tucked his hands into his pockets. He locked eyes with Papyrus, trying to ignore the crawling aching pain in his bones.

"No."

He let out a relieved little sigh to match Papyrus's..

"That's why _you're_ going to tell her."

Sans was slow to let out a weak, almost unheard squeak against Papyrus's jacket that was either apprehension or a determined resignation. He found it much easier to stand with his brother helping him, although there was a sharp pain in his leg that he couldn't quite pin down.

"Oh, come on," Sans threw one out arm to catch him as a support beam banged and fell noisily to the floor behind then. Papyrus's boots clinked loudly against one of the rolling empty liquor bottle. Sans froze in place, pleading, hoping against hopes that no one had heart it, but because the gods themselves seemed to conspire against him on a regular basis with rolling bets as to whom would receive the unlucky draw, Papyrus watched it roll and his expression grew blank as it did so. They shared a sparse look, Sans halfway between an uneasy shrug and Papyrus's face full of worry.

"It was a failure," Sans explained as they trudged upward the the flight of stairs, Flowey once again in the hands of Papyrus. "I didn't expect a reaction like that."

"Alphys... Alphys told me that this-this _project_ of yours," Papyrus rolled the word around his mouth. "Has something to do with dad."

"Did she now," Sans said expressionlessly, giving Flowey an uncomfortably long stare. The flower shifted in his ceramic pot, uncertain of what he had done to draw the skeleton's glower.

"Sans?" Papyrus asked as he helped him over the last step. "You-you are doing something related to what happened to dad, aren't you?"

"Well – you, you see, it's, uh, complicated-"

"Sans," he frowned, setting Flowey back on the mantle, much to the flower's distaste. "I am your brother. You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Sans resisted the urge to hold his aching leg. "Of course I know, bro."

"Because I think you forget sometimes," his expression softened as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "That no matter how crazy it gets, I'm here for you. And I always will be."

For a brief moment, Sans looked as if he were going to cry.

"I completely understand," Papyrus said after a moment. "I am very cool, and to have such an awesome brother must be slightly overwhelming sometimes."

He shook his head with a slow, small smile, letting out a little sigh.

"Heh. That-that means a lot to me, broseph."

"Now," Papyrus led him aside, away from the prying flower. His voice dropped to barely a whisper, and his brows grew furrowed. "Now that I have a moment and I've made sure you're okay, _what in the Sam Hell were you thinking_?"

"No, Sans-" Papyrus held up a gloved hand, stopping him in his tracks. "I don't care what you're planning to do with your spare time, if you die I swear to god I'll strangle you!"

"Paps-"

"Absolutely not!" he said in a hurried, hushed tone. "You've been staying awake for days, vanishing off to who knows where at all hours of the night, you're _drinking_ again-"

"Paps," Sans struggled to move out of his brother's iron grip.

"I can't stand it!" his voice slowly rose. "I can't stand seeing you tear yourself apart like this and doing _nothing_ to help!"

" _Paps,_ " Sans tried to say.

"I can't stand not knowing if I'm going to wake up and you're going to be dead or not!"

" _Paps!_ "

Papyrus froze, evidently startled by the shout.

"... Yes?"

"You're getting hysterical," Sans said bluntly, carefully pulling his brother's arms off.

"S-sorry."

"Fuhgeddaboudit," he brushed it off, blinking. "Don't worry, Paps. I'm not going to work myself to death anymore."

"You-you're not?" Papyrus perked up.

"Nah," he shook his head. "I've decided that I, uh, might need an assistant for this one."

Papyrus beamed down at him, looking as if Christmas had just come early.

"That's why I'm going to ask Alphys for help."

Some of the light left Papyrus's face.

"Oh," he frowned. "... I thought you needed my help."

"Ah," Sans rubbed the back of his neck, still feeling sore. "It's, uh... kind of a specific set of talents that this job needs. And you know what a mechanical wiz Al is."

"Yes, of course," Papyrus nodded. "Well, at least you're not going to burn the candle at both ends anymore. That's one problem out of the way."

"Not sure what you mean," Sans lied, shifting from foot to foot.

"Sans," Papyrus said dangerously.

Sans found it suddenly hard to look directly at his brother, opting instead to glance toward the front door.

Thankfully, a distraction came in the form of Toriel, closely followed by Frisk.

"Papyrus?" Toriel called into the dark home, eyes adjusting to the light. "You've been a whi- oh my lord, _Sans!_ "

"Hey Tori," he lifted a charred hand limply. "Hey kiddo. What's up?"

"I _knew_ it!" Frisk cheered, running forward and hugging him. "What happened, what happened?"

"I'd like to know that as well," Toriel closed the door behind her, noting that Sans seemed to cringe in pain when Frisk hugged him.

"Well, erm..." he struggled, unable to escape Papyrus's gaze or Frisk's iron grip. "You, uh, know that little project I've been working on for the last few weeks?"

"Yes...?" Toriel nodded curtly, looking between the skeleton brothers.

"It sort of... um. Exploded."

Toriel did not blink. She didn't move, she hardly even breathed.

"Well, that settles it then," she said calmly.

"It-it does?"

"Absolutely," Toriel said with complete conviction. "I'm not letting you work on any more 'projects' in the house _ever again."_

"Great," Sans deadpanned as Frisk climbed up his back and sat on his shoulder. "Guess I'm heading back to talk to Al after all."

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Man it takes me forever to write anything halfway decent. Next chapter is on the way. Please leave a review if you liked it! :D

(Or not whatever dudelings I'm not your boss.)


	9. The Device

0-0-0-0-0

"-And while the long term effects can only be guessed at, the current number of citizens without power has risen to almost twelve hundred-"

"Sans." Alphys paced back and forth in front of the gigantic television screen that she had just turned off, leaving the dark room absent of any other distractions. He sat awkwardly on the couch, uncertain of where to look.

"You tried powering a photon dispersal generator by connecting it to the city's _power grid_. Am I right?" she swirled a small amount of amber liquor in her glass as she paced, thinking.

"W-well," Sans cleared his throat, suddenly feeling very pressured. He wasn't used to being under Alphys's scrutinizing glare. "It didn't exactly go as planned-"

"I can _tell_ ," her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Look, Al, it was an honest mistake."

"One that endangered the lives of everyone around you!" Alphys fumed, pacing back and forth in front of him. "Sans, I miss him too, but you could have been _killed!_ Or _worse_!"

"But I wasn't," he interrupted pointedly. "And we learned something important from that particularly... explosive foray."

"And that would be...?" she motioned for him to continue, although she was clearly still upset.

"We're going to need power," Sans steepled his fingertips together. "Lots and lots of power."

"So, what would you suggest?" she sighed, beginning her process of maintaining her 'project' once more. The smoking liquid that fell down Asriel's throat flowed thickly, and Sans watched it for a while before answering.

Sans thought for a brief moment, chin in hands.

"We'll need a second core."

Alphys nearly dropped her beaker.

She adjusted her glasses with one hand, ignoring the shaking body for a few seconds to stare at him.

"... What?" he blinked.

"What do you mean, a _second_ core?" she balked. "Sans, we had Gaster for the first core, I don't even know if it _can_ be done again."

"That's why I came to you," Sans pointed out. "If there was anyone that could do what he did, it would be the royal scientist herself."

" _Ex_ royal scientist," Alphys said uncomfortably, watching the body's spasms die down. "I'm not officially working for the king anymore. Hell, he's practically given up the royal title himself."

"So?" Sans stood with one hand outstretched, grinning. "What do you say? Can you do it? Can you make a second core?"

Alphys looked, if only for a moment, as if she desperately wanted to shake his hand. However, she slowly shook her head, a sliver of discontent showing.

"Sans," she said softly. "Doctor Gaster's had some pretty big shoes to fill." Sans smile faded a little, but not entirely. "I can't competently reproduce something as big as the core power station, I couldn't even get it moved out from the underground-"

"But what about mini-Asgore?" Sans jabbed a thumb at Asriel's body. "You managed to replicate _that_ pretty damned well."

"This is different, Sans," she crossed her arms, a glint showing in her glasses. "Monster's bodies aren't that hard to recreate – it's the whole soul transference thing that's the trouble. And believe me, I have done lots and _lots_ of research into souls, this project alone has been absolute torture."

"What if..." Sans said after a moment of silence. "... What if I told you that I could get you the blueprints that Gaster used to create the first core?"

Alphys looked as if he'd just grown a second head.

"... You can't be serious," she breathed, waiting for him to say _gotcha_ or _April Fool's,_ but he simply stood there with a blank expression. "... Oh my god you're not kidding, he actually gave them to you."

"I... acquired Gaster's blueprints, yes," he nodded once. "So... can you do it?"

Alphys resumed her pacing, one hand over her mouth as she walked tentatively back and forth. She did so for several minutes, Sans watching her with growing impatience. She finally turned back to him, her eyes wide.

"... With Gaster's blueprints, the actual drafts, I can begin construction of a secondary power core," Alphys said at long last, leaving Sans bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"That's fantastic," he beamed. "I can –"

"On one condition."

Sans froze mid-bounce, staring.

"... Just-just in case something goes wrong," she said with bated breath. "In case your photon dispersal generator goes banana shaped and it k-kills us all..."

Alphys fiddled with her thumbs for a moment, unable to meet his eyes.

"I want to finish what I started."

Sans drew a blank until she gave a slow look to the covered body of Asriel. Sans nodded eventually in understanding.

"I gotcha," he said after a moment. "I'll do what I can to speed the process, but-"

"Just leave everything to me," she shook her head. "Just make sure that Flowey behaves himself, and I'll-I'll figure something out."

"You know..." Sans crossed his arms. "I _did_ help construct the DT extractor. You aren't the only one who's delved into soul research."

"This is more than just speculation and theories, Sans," Alphys took a seat in her swiveling chair before the large monitor, sighing. "I literally can't transfer his consciousness into the body without either destroying one of the bodies in the process, which completely screws everyone in case something goes wrong, or two, without developing an entirely _new_ soul, which would, in all likelihood, utterly destroy his current form of consciousness and memory. He doesn't even have a _soul,_ I have no idea how I'm supposed to keep his mind intact without one; there's just no way to keep something that fragile in one piece long enough to transfer! I'm at my _wit's end_ , Sans."

Sans softly, quietly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of worn, dirtied square spectacles, and stared at them for a long time in complete silence.

Finally, at long last, he folded them neatly and placed them back in his pocket, letting out a silent breath.

"... I think I know how we can do it."

"You have my full attention."

"You made an artificial body out of the combined DNA from Asgore and Toriel..." Sans began slowly, steepling his fingers together. "Just hear me out on this one... what if we made an artificial soul?"

Alphys opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times, staring at him. She frowned firmly, crossing her arms.

"... Do you think that we can even do it?" she adjusted her glasses. "A replicated body is one thing, but an artificial _soul_? Is-is that even feasible?"

"Like a blank slate," Sans nodded once. "Extract the consciousness from the host flower and inject it into an artificial soul, a new empty vessel."

"But would it have the same danger of just creating a new real monster's soul?" Alphys mused aloud. "Is there still the possibility of accidentally erasing his memory, letting the new soul overwhelm the consciousness?"

"I'd say it's worth a shot," Sans shrugged. "And even if that does happen, think of it this way; all that pain, all that suffering is something he'd forget. It would be like the prince was being born all over again."

"Blank slate," she repeated numbly.

"Blank slate. We inject the body with a fresh, artificial half-soul, and follow up with Flowey's consciousness immediately after. It can't hurt to try. Mostly."

Alphys sat in silent contemplation for what seemed like ages.

"... Let's do it."

"Awesome," Sans grinned. "Now that that's out of the way, I've got a favor to ask of you."

"Yes?"

"Uh... d'you mind if I move the generator down here to the laboratory?" he motioned around the basement.

"What?" she blinked.

"Well... more like 'rebuild'," Sans shifted awkwardly. "The prototype kinda... um, blew up."

Alphys took a sharp intake of breath, cringing.

"I've got nowhere else to put it," he shrugged. "Tori sort of, uh... _disagreed_ with leaving it in the house."

"Gee, I wonder why," she deadpanned.

"Good, so, it's settled then," he clapped his hands together with a grin, either ignoring or oblivious to her distasteful stare. "We'll get started on your project first thing tonight, and we'll then we'll have the photon generator up and running in no time."

"Can't wait," Alphys said utterly without conviction.

0-0-0-0-0

Undyne watched in mild fascination as the skeleton and her girlfriend worked together with an intensity that she rarely got to see from either of them. It was sort of exciting in an odd way, witnessing the pair performing together in such perfect synchronization. The laboratory was lit up with sporadic flashes of light from the bizarre, unearthly glowing machine, shaped like the business end of a double barrel shotgun laid bare on the ground. Held together with welded steel and imbued magic, the dimly glowing device cast long shadows about the room. Sans and Alphys each stood on either side of the large machine, both looking roughly equally exhausted from their work for the last two days.

"Test number... thirty-seven," Sans said, readjusting his safety goggles as he stood beside a row of switches implanted into the side. "Preparing cognitive translocation in three... two... one..."

Alphys flipped a row of switches on the opposite side, and light bounced off the glass cases of the device, throwing the room into darkness for a few moments. Undyne stood with her arms crossed, leaning against a metal table that held only the covered body and Flowey in his tan flower pot.

"How much longer do you think this is going to take?" Flowey asked her in a bored tone, but it was clear that he wasn't going to stop watching until they were done.

"Dude, does it look like I have any idea what nerd thing they're doing?" Undyne shrugged, brushing a lock of red hair from her eye. Sans pulled a small white rat from the tube like contraption, just large enough for a small prince, as Alphys removed a slightly obese rabbit from the one opposite him. Both animals were seemingly sleeping with a number of wires attached to their heads, linking directly up to Alphys's large monitor which she checked periodically before shaking her head each time.

"Preparing test number twenty... uh, eight?"

"Thirty-eight."

Undyne shifted uncomfortably, uncertain of just how long Alphys was going to subject herself to her work. She had attempted multiple times to sway her away, to take a break, but she displayed a level of determination that rarely came out, and would not be pulled away for anything. It was a little inspiring, but Undyne still had a sliver of worry. She shook it off, looking back to the distracted flower.

Whatever they were doing, it was something Alphys really didn't want to talk about, and that was disturbing enough. Alphys told her everything.

Probably.

She cast a slow gaze to the corner of the room, where what appeared to be a floating white heart in a tube almost seemed to stare out at her. She had never personally seen an exposed monster's soul up close, but this artificial creation of Alphy's was... unsettling. The way it seemed to twist and turn in it's container almost reminded her of the wriggling human souls she had once collected, that had all mysteriously disappeared the day that monsters had gone free from the underground.

A hint of guilt began to rise in her throat, at least until she rubbed her eye patch in memory of what the previous human had done to her.

This soul was too... human.

"Hey," Undyne said after several more 'tests' in which both scientists were busy checking the charts on the monitor. "Not that I don't wanna stay up and watch you nerds go at it like a couple of lab rats all night _again_ or anything," she watched Alphys stretch her back uncomfortably. "But can I get an estimation on when you guys are gonna be done with your dork work?"

"Come on, Undyne," Sans rubbed the back of his neck, removing his safety goggles for a bit to grin at her. "Such hurtful slurs, you're absolutely _krilling_ me."

"... What," she balked.

"We've been _herring_ the same thing out of you," he tried to hide his smirk. "We'll let you know when the device is o- _fish-_ ally finished."

"Sans no."

"Sans yes," he grinned.

"Sans no," Alphys clapped a hand to her forehead.

"Are you against me now too?" he gasped, holding a hand to his chest. "You've _cod_ da be kidding me with this carp."

"Sans, oh my god," Undyne pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Come on, Undyne..." Sans fought not to chuckle at the absolutely disgusted look that Flowey was giving him. "You don't have to be a brain _sturgeon_ to do this."

"Sans I swear to god," Undyne said through clenched teeth.

And so the puns commenced throughout the night, along with many a threat of being force fed a blowtorch.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Sans: By the way can I use your lab to store my super explosive project? :D

Alphys: Sans are you fucking kidding me with this bullshit -_-


	10. Link In The Daisy Chain

0-0-0-0-0

Undyne paced around and around the living room, hands bouncing off her sides as she wrapped and unwrapped her arms from around herself. She pulled occasionally at her flannel shirt, deep in thought as she wandered in haphazard circles here and there, nearly knocking the flower pot off the coffee table a few times in the process.

"Can you _please_ watch where you're going?" Flowey griped to no avail.

"What if it's something dangerous though?" Undyne continued to muse aloud. "What if she's getting in over her head again?"

"Are you _still_ on about that?" he scowled.

"She has a tendency to take on a bigger workload than she can handle," she continued to pace. "What if – what if she can't manage by herself?"

"Listen to yourself," Flowey deadpanned. "She's not even by herself, she's got the fatbag with her."

The electricity flickered and went out yet again for a few moments before clicking back on. Undyne pulled at her red ponytail in aggravation, as if it had just accentuated her point.

"I hate this," Undyne fumed. "I _hate_ doing... doing _nothing_ when I know she's working her hardest."

"The doctor is perfectly capable of maintaining her work," Flowey stated in a flat tone. "Quit being so distressed."

Undyne shot the flower a look of pure irritation so sharp that he flinched, looking away.

"And what do you know what Alphys is capable of?" she placed her hands on her hips before him, glowering.

"I guess you could say that I've spent a lot of time watching her work," Flowey hummed. "Probably even more than you."

Undyne's eye twitched.

"And who exactly do you think that she's _doing_ all this for?" she stared him dead in the eyes. "You honestly think I can't put two and two together by myself?"

"No idea what you're on about," he lied. Undyne only rolled her eyes, flipping a lock of red hair from her face to better look down at him.

"Listen and listen good, punk," she said, utterly unamused. "Allie has been putting herself through absolute _hell_ lately for you. The very _least_ you could do is _pretend_ to be just a little grateful. If you're even _capable_ of that."

"Why, Undyne, I'm hurt," Flowey held a leaf to what might have been his chest. "You make it sound as if I don't _appreciate_ the good doctor's hard efforts-"

"Don't give me that _shit,_ " she leaned down to eye level, making him shift uncomfortably. "You and I both know good and well that you've been treating her like last week's garbage."

"N-no I haven't-"

"So why is it that she gets all tense and irritable whenever you're watching her work?"

"Maybe it's that time of the month," he responded in a blank tone.

"You misogynistic little fu-"

 _Bang._

The both of them jumped at the sound of the basement door being kicked open, heads swiveling around to spot Alphys with her lab coat wide open and flapping behind her as she ran, safety goggles hanging around her neck and revealing her bloodshot eyes.

"We did it!" she cheered hoarsely, beaming from ear to ear.

"That's great!" Undyne grinned back. "... Did what?"

"The device is finally operational," she said breathlessly, rubbing her hands together gleefully. "We successfully swapped the minds of the test subjects!"

"It's-it's really working?" Flowey asked in a shaky breath, an odd look on his face. He stared at her with his mouth slightly agape, waiting impatiently. "It's finally ready?"

"There were a couple of... obstructions," she picked him up and marched toward the laboratory, Undyne close in tow. "Come on, I can't wait to show you!"

She descended the steps two at a time, closely followed by Undyne. Sans sat slightly slumped in Alphys's swivel chair, yawning sleepily.

"Show me," Flowey insisted eagerly, perked up and taking in as many details from the glowing machine that he could. "Show me show me show me show me-"

"Alright, alright, take a breather," Sans stifled another yawn. "Whoa, bag check for doctor Alphys, those bags under your eyes could be taken on a flight."

"You're hardly one to talk," she quipped wearily, carefully placing Flowey down on the examination table beside the covered body. "You look like death warmed over."

"As opposed to...?" he cocked one eyebrow. Alphys only shook her head and adjusted her glasses, motioning for Undyne to see their progress. Inside two separate cages were the lab rat and rabbit, both stripped of cranial wiring and looking much more comfortable from the lack of electrodes sticking to their heads.

Nothing happened.

Undyne adjusted her sleeves absentmindedly, looking back and forth between the test subjects and feeling as if she were supposed to be picking something up.

"So... how can you tell it actually worked, exactly?" she asked slowly. Alphys clapped her hands together eagerly, bringing up several graphs and recordings on her monitor.

"Glad you asked," Alphys responded eagerly, but Undyne could detect the exhaustion in her voice. "We did a number of EEG scans before, during and after the cognitive translocation experiment," she pulled up a new set of images showing the brain activity of the animals. "At first, we weren't even sure that we could maintain the mental structures of the subjects during transfer-"

"We weren't even completely positive that it was feasible," Sans interjected, earning a low nod from Alphys.

"But we managed to completely swap the minds and souls of both of them," Alphys continued excitedly. "We're so close to success, I can almost taste it."

"So..." Flowey nodded once. "What, exactly, is the holdup? When can we get my body back?"

Sans and Alphys shared an uneasy look, one that made Flowey very, very indecisive.

"We... hit a roadblock," Sans pulled out a pair of square spectacles from his jacket pocket, inspecting them far too carefully.

"What do you mean, _roadblock_?"

"The, um... the thing is," Alphys tapped her talons together nervously. "Transferring the minds and souls of two separate beings is one thing, but-but for this to work, we'll need to inject the host body with your consciousness _and_ the artificial soul _simultaneously_. We can't be one hundred percent certain that this duplicate soul will even work."

Undyne had been silent the entire time, arms crossed loosely over her chest.

"So what's the problem?" Flowey frowned, looking back and forth between Alphys and the nearly snoozing skeleton.

"We-we aren't entirely sure that this will go accordingly-," Alphys explained hesitantly. "I mean, this is completely new fieldwork that we're doing, there's no guarantee whatsoever that everything will go as planned. So..."

"So run the diagnostics again," Flowey harrumphed. "That's your thing, right? Then do them again, and again, and again until you're _sure_ that it will work."

"It's not that easy, kiddo," Sans rubbed his temple, matching the flower's frown. "Believe you me, I wish it were. If something happens to either your consciousness or the artificial soul in the process, then, well... we've got problems."

"What _kind_ of problems?" he asked impatiently.

"Well," Sans sat up a little in the chair, eyeing him slowly. "We could lose the body in the cognitive transfer, for one."

"Speaking of which," Alphys interrupted, swiftly grabbing her umpteenth beaker of smoking purple liquid and pouring it down the open mouth of the prince's body. It shook violently, almost as if it were having a fit lasting a very long, uncomfortable ten seconds before dying down.

"Lose the body?" Flowey repeated numbly. "How?"

"It-it has to be injected with the concoction periodically," Alphys explained. "At least until it's been retrofitted with a working soul strong enough to keep it together."

"That makes me curious," Undyne drew everyone's attention, having barely said a word the entire time.

"A-about what?" Alphys blinked, cleaning her dirty glasses.

Undyne leaned against one wall, arms crossed and brows furrowed. She slowly, every so gradually looked back into the corner where the artificial soul lay dormant and glowing a dim porcelain white that reflected off the shining floors.

"... How, exactly," she began slowly, jabbing a thumb in the thing's general direction. "Did you manage to make a freakin' _soul_ from scratch? I thought that was impossible?"

"It is," Sans grinned. "Unless you happen to be a genius. Which I am."

"Sans..." Undyne said dangerously. "What _exactly_ did you?"

Sans's response was to slowly, deliberately raise his shirt. It took a long moment of staring before it finally clicked.

He was missing a rib.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat-"

"Monster's souls gotta come from somewhere," he dropped his shirt, trying to appear nonchalant about it. "Had to start somewhere. Might as well have started somewhere good."

"... This is insane," Flowey held his petals to his head. "This is _literally_ madness."

"Hey, think of it this way," Sans winked. "You can make _so_ many 'put a bone in me' jokes-"

"LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Flowey wailed.

"Alright, alright, stop tormenting us with your 'humor' please," Alphys shooed him up out of her swivel chair. "I've got some more tests to run first, and then-"

"Al."

"Hm?" she glanced back up at Undyne.

"Come get some rest."

Alphys blinked.

"But-but we're so close...!" she gaped.

"You had a goal," Undyne approached her. "You reached it. Take a break."

"But-but-but-!"

Undyne's response was to kneel down, grasp Alphys by the arms, and swiftly toss her up in the air and catch her to carry her sideways leaving the yellow dinosaur flushed furiously.

"Tomorrow night," Undyne pointed out the door with her free hand. "Sleep on it, you two. Get some rest."

"Almost get the feeling we're not wanted here," Sans chuckled as Undyne effortlessly carried the blubbering blushing girl upstairs. Flowey had a particularly nasty glower leveled at the back of Undyne's head, but nobody but Sans seemed to notice. They sat for a long while in contemplative silence, neither one daring to break the quiet. Eventually, Sans leaned forward and stretched his back until it popped, stifling another heavy yawn.

"Come on, squirt."

"Don't call me that," Flowey grumbled, but seemed to be fairly distracted otherwise. Had he been paying attention, he would have noticed that Sans had picked him up and had just snapped his fingers.

The void collapsed in around them, through them, drowning them in a sea of inky, crushing, howling blackness.

And just as quickly as it happened, it was over.

Flowey spasmed from the teleportation, eyes rolling madly as he struggled to take in the new surroundings. Sans stood ankle deep in lush green grass, swaying gently in the twilight.

They were standing in the city's central park, from the looks of it.

"What did you bring us here for?" Flowey stared at him, but he seemed to be slightly distracted. "Hello? Are you even listening to me?"

"Hush," Sans said, looking over the horizon as he took a seat on a nearby park bench, carefully setting the flower down.

"I'm serious," Flowey insisted. "We need to go back and-"

" _Shh,_ " Sans held a finger over his mouth, not bothering to hide his grin.

" _Why_?" he shouted, throwing his petals in the air. "Why did you drag me all the way out here? Why aren't we going back? What are you playing at? What-"

"Flowey."

Sans pointed over the horizon. Shortly after he did so, a few golden, sparkling rays of sunlight began to creep over the lip of the world, illuminating the park in a dimly glowing aura that shone on the morning dew.

"... Great, _another_ sunrise," Flowey deadpanned. "Like those don't happen literally every single day on the surface."

"I think you take way too much for granted..." Sans folded his hands in his lap, struggling not to yawn.

"As opposed to, what?" he grunted. "Giving a damn about anything?"

"Do you really think I carried you out here, all the way out to see the sunrise, just to get on your nerves or something?" Sans asked softly, making the flower go suddenly quiet. "Can you really not appreciate anything at all anymore?"

"I doubt it," he scoffed. "I'm a _flower._ "

"Can you even feel anything at all?"

Flowey didn't answer for the longest time.

He watched the giant orange ball grow larger and larger in the sky, parting the clouds and rising further and further. At first, he didn't speak at all. Eventually though he cleared his throat, his tone low.

"I feel... disgust."

"Go on."

"Revulsion," Flowey didn't look at him. "Anger. Irritation. Emptiness. Exhaustion."

"That... sounds an awful lot like depression," Sans stared down at his hands.

"Screw you, I'm not depressed."

Much to his chagrin, Sans didn't say anything. He only laughed.

"Man," he wiped an invisible tear with one finger bone. "You really are a rotten little turd."

"Why?" Flowey asked. "If you hate me so much, then-then _why_? Why all of... all of _this?_ " he motioned toward the sunset. "Why help me at all?"

"Why would you assume that I hated you?"

"You've told me before."

"I don't remember."  
"I do."

Sans looked down to the flower, uncertain of how to respond.

"... You're talking about-"

"The resets," Flowey stared up at the sunrise. "Sans... Look. I'm-I'm sorry. I'm just so, so... tired. I'm just so very tired."

"I get the feeling," he nodded once.

"No," Flowey frowned. "No, you don't."

"You think all of those resets didn't do a number on me as well?" Sans blinked.

"That's not what I mean!" Flowey scowled even harder. "You can feel them when they happen, but I _remember_ the resets. Every single reset, be it mine or Frisk's."

"But there haven't been any more resets," he quoted Alphys. "Not since-"

"Since leaving the underground. But you don't get it," he closed his eyes, slowly taking a breath. "All of this, everything that we do, everything that we say is just one step closer to being erased. Just because there haven't been any resets for a while doesn't mean that they're never going to happen again. Just you wait. Sooner or later, we're both going to wake up in the underground like none of this ever happened. We're just going to wind up back in the same place, trapped in the same god awful cycle of doing the exact same things, saying the exact same things, and remembering the exact same things over, and over, and over again. And that's just a single link in the daisy chain of _fucked_ up things that will eventually drive you just as far into the abyss as me."

Sans was left utterly speechless by the flower's tirade. He wanted to find the right words to say, something to comfort him, but wasn't even sure if he could do the same for himself.

Sans rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, letting out a long, uneven breath.

"I've... _we've_ talked with Frisk a lot about the resets," Sans admitted, rubbing his hands together to ward off the morning chill. "Aside from you, there was nobody else that could cause those anomalies in the timeline, and she's-"

"Just because she made a little promise doesn't mean that she won't break it," Flowey stared up at him. "Just you wait. This isn't anything more than an extended dream, a fanciful illusion. What happens when she gets bored of us, hmm? I can't be saved. Nobody can."

"Look, kid-"

"We'll be thrown away," Flowey turned away from him, glaring off into the distance. "Tossed out like garbage."

"You have no faith in the kiddo," he shrugged.

"And you have too much."

"Ain't we a dandy pair?" Sans grinned, but it felt empty. He leaned back against the park bench, tucking his hands into his pockets and enjoying the brief silence.

"... Tonight is when it all happens," Flowey broke the uneven quiet at last. "Tonight we finally find out if this little project finally kills me or not."

"Bah, you'll be fine," Sans said without conviction.

"If you say so," he replied gibly.

"Come on, kid." Sans picked up Flowey and began the long walk back. "... Let's go home."

0-0-0-0-0


	11. Catch You On The Flip Side

0-0-0-0-0

Sans dragged himself through the doorway, feet shuffling as he forced himself to remain upright. The chirrup of crickets outside serenaded him as he carried the flowerpot inside, numbly gazing upward to the old gently ticking grandfather clock.

A little past three in the morning.

Sans sighed to himself, wearily placing Flowey on his regular place on the mantle before collapsing face down onto the sofa, eyes buried deep in the cushions to block out what little light there was. He let out a long, uneven and tired breath, finally giving in to the overwhelming fatigue and letting sleep take him at last. He slept a calm, dreamless sleep, the deep kind of slumber that one can only attain through sheer exhaustion. It felt as if it were only a short ten minutes, but subconsciously he knew when Papyrus was gently shaking him awake it must have been at least half past six.

"Mornin' Paps," Sans yawned widely, popping his back and straining to work out the sore kinks in his bones that had developed from his awkward position.

"Good morning, brother," Papyrus said curtly. "I'm glad to see you're finally home. When you said you'd be at the lab for a while longer, I didn't think you meant _two days_."

"Sorry 'bout that," Sans sat up, pulling his jacket a little tighter around himself and giving a small shiver. "Phone must have died. I, uh, got kinda caught up helping Al with her project. Took a little -*yawn*- longer than I expected."

"I'm just glad you're back home without any more explosions," Papyrus breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on, I'll make you some breakfast and you can tell me all about it."

Sans dragged his feet, eyes half open as he followed his brother into the kitchen, where, much to his surprise, Frisk and Toriel were already sitting at the table and chatting amicably with one another about something in low tones, occasionally hiding a small giggle behind their hands. Part of him was curious as to what they were chuckling about and wanted in on the joke, but it was paltry compared to the tiredness he felt.

"Here you are, brother!" Papyrus carefully placed a steaming plate of omelets and bacon with a cup of hot coffee before him (in his favorite Aperture Science mug no less) and set about making waffles and a side of eggs for Toriel and Frisk. Papyrus paused as he adjusted his white chef's hat, staring over at Sans.

"... Brother?"

"Hmm?" Sans blinked slowly, slumped in his seat.

"Are-are you feeling alright?"  
"Yeah, yeah. 'Course I am," he nodded once.

"You didn't even make a 'bone-appetit joke," Papyrus frowned slightly. "You must _really_ not be feeling well."  
"Uncle Sans?" Frisk looked up at him, her smile fading. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Psh," he flipped his hand lazily. "I'm as chipper as a chipmunk in a box of nougats."

"You look..." Toriel started, biting her lower lip. "You look... uhm, pretty terrible, to be honest."

"Take this to heart kid," Sans took a small sip of his hot coffee, letting the bitter taste kick him awake. "Science is awesome and all, but never let it determine your sleep schedule."

Frisk nodded a couple of times in serious contemplation.

"Well, at least you're finished," Papyrus cheerfully served up Toriel's and Frisk's breakfast, setting a small plate for himself as well as Sans poured heaping spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee. "And now we never have to worry about it again-"

"We have to go back tonight."

Papyrus was halfway into his first bite, and slowly, deliberately placed his fork down with a little _clink_.

"... What."

"We've gotta go back tonight," Sans yawned. "It's the final process and Flowey's kinda got to be there for the fireworks."

"Huh?" Frisk stared from across the table. "What's happening to Flowey? Is it important? He isn't sick, is he? Is it because I sprayed him with ladybug repellent?" she wailed. "Oh no is he _dying?!_ "

"Kid, kid, calm down," Sans chuckled. "Everything is fine. Alphys just needs him for an experiment that she's been working on in cognitive translocation."

"Perhaps Frisk and I should come as well," Toriel chimed in. "It would do her good after not seeing her Uncle and friend for the last two days."

"O-oh, um, I-I don't think that's such a g-good idea," Sans suddenly felt as if there were a golf ball stuck in his throat, mentally kicking himself for letting so much go at the dining table.

"It sounds really cool!" Frisk threw up her arms. "We should totally go cheer doctor Alphys on! We can be like her super neato moral support team!"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Frisk," Toriel patted her head and Frisk's cheeks glowed warmly. "I haven't seen dear Alphys and Undyne in quite a while, we've got so much catching up to do."

"It-it really- I mean, maybe it isn't such a good idea," Sans forced the words out, fighting not to stutter.

"The Great Papyrus also agrees with Asgore's clone!" Papyrus interjected, causing Sans to flinch for some reason.

"Sure," Sans said resignedly. "Why don't we just ask the flower what he thinks while we're at it?"  
"That's a great idea Uncle Sans!" Frisk beamed at him. "Hey! Hey, Flowey!" she darted off through the kitchen toward him, rambling away about taking walks and Alphys and part of a joke about a wooden leg named Smith, but Sans couldn't catch the rest.

"I was... actually kidding about..." he started, but only sighed and shook his head, small little grin forming on his face. He mentally shrugged and resigned himself to what would inevitably come next, taking a small bite of his omelet. Might as well go with the flow. He was simply to tired to fight against it anyway.

"Alphys would probably be glad to see you anyway," he sighed. The omelet actually wasn't half bad for Papyrus's cooking, and he helped himself to more, much to Papyrus's delight. "But I'm not entirely sure that she'll want company watching her work. It's kind of a, uh... _sensitive_ project that she's been working on."

"Understandable," Toriel nodded thoughtfully, watching as Frisk dragged a severely irritated Flowey into the kitchen and plopped him on the table. "The poor dear always did seem like the nervous sort. I think being with Undyne has really helped her come out of her shell, even if only a little."

"I don't care what you're talking about," Flowey said loudly, clearly annoyed at having been brought into the conversation. "I don't know, I can't be bothered, leave me alone. Put me back on the mantle."

"Weren't you just complaining the other day about how you never get to leave the mantle?" Sans poked him, earning a furious look.

"I changed my mind," Flowey said flatly. "I could not _possibly_ care less about what trivial boring mundane garbage you're blathering about this time."

"We were talking about you, actually..." Sans finished up his omelet and took a long drought of his coffee. "So, yeah, trivial boring mundane garbage."

Toriel snorted, and Flowey's cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson.

"Don't you have anything better to do than talk about people behind their backs?" Flowey glowered at him.

"Aww, poor little guy," Sans grinned. "Do you want us to just _leaf_ you alone?"

"Sans," both Flowey and Papyrus deadpanned.

"But what in _carnation_ would you do then?" Toriel snickered.

"Oh god," Papyrus bowed his head and covered his eyes with one hand, sighing. "Not you too."

"We should totally _columbine_ our jokes!" Sans beamed at her, earning an absolutely revolted look from Flowey.

"What a _clover_ plan," Toriel giggled.

"See?" Sans crossed his arms, smiling. " _Iris_ my case."

"You two are horrendous," Flowey harrumphed.

"At least they finally stopped with the skeleton puns," Papyrus said sympathetically.

And then they resumed with the skeleton puns.

0-0-0-0-0

It was not a long drive to the home of doctor Alphys and Undyne. The air seemed positively charged with electricity, and Sans's hands were shaking as he knocked on the door. Undyne greeted them inside, slightly surprised to see them all. Frisk carried Flowey inside, looking about at the photographs on the wall as they removed their shoes, hardly listening to the raucous conversation being carried on without her.

"... This is it," she heard Flowey say under his breath.

"What's it?" she asked absentmindedly, gazing up at a relatively new picture of Undyne and Alphys at the beach.

"This is the night that everything goes down..." he muttered, earning an odd look from Frisk.

"Flowey?" Frisk turned him around to better look at him. "What exactly is going on?"

"It's supposed to be a secret," he looked over his shoulder to ensure that everyone else was still distracted. Papyrus had a hand on Undyne's shoulder and was laughing with her about something, whereas Toriel and Alphys were in deep conversation. "You'll find out in a little bit whether it worked or not."

"Whether or not what worked?" she urged him with a little smile. "Come on, Flowey, you can tell me."

"Alphys wouldn't like it if I told anyone else about it..." he turned a bit away from her. "But if you really must know..."

"Yes?" she was practically dancing back and forth, waiting for an answer.

"Frisk," Flowey said slowly, not looking at her as he spoke. "Do you remember what happened last year?"

"That's pretty vague," Frisk dropped onto the living room sofa, carefully placing the flower beside her.

"I mean when when the barrier was broken."

"Oh."

Frisk held a hand over her mouth, thinking.

"You mean, when you..."

"Yes." he nodded once. "When, from all the power of the souls, I temporarily developed a habitable body."

"I remember," she looked away, crossing her arms. "You looked... you looked so sad when we had to leave. I-I hated when you turned back into a flower."

"It couldn't be helped," Flowey grumbled. "But that's not important."

"So why did you bring it up, then?"

"... Alphys recreated my body."

Frisk opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, repeating the process several times before finally managing to regain her composure.

"Is-is that- _how?_ " she balked. "How is that even possible?"

"That's what fatb- I mean _Sans_ and doctor Alphys have been working on," Flowey explained quietly. "They've been recreating my body and making an artificial soul so that I could be returned to life."

Frisk ran a hand through her hair, her eyes wide as she stared at him.

"This-this is _huge,_ " she breathed. "Oh, man, mom is gonna _flip_ -"

"You can't tell her!" he interrupted, only to flinch and lower his voice, looking back to ensure that nobody heard him. "Frisk, _no_ , listen to me – under no circumstances can you tell her about this. Not until we know."

"Until we know... what?" she stared at him, confusion plain on her face. Flowey shifted uneasily in his pot, uncertain of how to respond.

At long last he looked back at her, abjectly frowning.

"Frisk, can you... promise me something?"

"Of course," she nodded instantly.

"If-if something happens..." he tapped his leaves together. "If something were to go... wrong. Promise me you'll take care of Mom for me."

"Why would something go wrong?" she blinked, looking as if she were going to cry. "Flowey? Come on – is there something you're not telling me?"

"Frisk..." Flowey rubbed the side of his petaled head. "I'm just asking in case of a worst case scenario. I'm not going to _die_ or anything. I don't even have a soul, I don't think I _can_ properly die. Just... just hurry up and say yes already-"

"Say yes to what?"

Flowey nearly jumped out of his pot at the sound of Sans's voice directly behind him, and it was clear from the look on Frisk's face that she was equally shocked to see him.

"Kidding, of course," Sans flipped one hand cheerfully. "I heard everything."

"Dirty eavesdropper," Flowey scowled at him.

"Am not," he pointed to the side of his head. "Don't even have eaves to drop. Or ears, for that matter."

"Is-is Flowey gonna be okay?" Frisk asked worriedly. Sans looked at her with an odd expression for a moment, but it was gone the second she tried to identify it.

"Yeah, of course he's gonna be okay," he grinned. "As a matter of fact, he'll be so okay that by the next time you see him he'll seem like a completely different person."

"That's what worries me," Frisk tapped her fingertips together uncertainly.

"Come on, bucko..." Sans picked up the flower pot and made for the basement. "Machine's ready. Time to get crackin'."

0-0-0-0-0

Flowey shifted in discomfort in the containment chamber, the lights seeming slightly dimmed behind the glass.

"Are you sure that this is going to work?" he asked Alphys as she adjusted a row of dials on the side of the device, his voice slightly muffled. Sans was busy doing the same on the opposite side, where his duplicate body lay across from him in an identical chamber. It almost appeared to be sleeping, hands folded over its chest with a tranquil expression.

"I've identified the necessary power requirements and run the diagnostics two dozen times," Alphys reassured him as she stood, cleaning her glasses with the edge of her lab coat. "We have an approximately seventy-eight percent chance to make this work."

"W-which still leaves a twenty-two percent margin for error," Flowey finished uncomfortably, looking back and forth between the doctor and the silent skeleton, who was busying himself with the contained artificial soul.

"It's the highest percentile that we're going to attain," Alphys placed a hand over the glass, trying to comfort him. "We're going to make this work, no matter what."

"If you say so, doc."

"The transference pod is ready, Al," Sans informed her, attaching the artificial soul to an extension of wires and tubes on the opposite side.

"Okay." Alphys shakily began flipping a row of switches, and the lights above them slowly began to dim. "Okay. We c-can do this."

"I hope so, doctor," Flowey said, too quietly for anyone to hear. "God I hope so."

Flowey's vision slowly began to fade as darkness crept in from the corners of his sight, sleepy little tendrils that wove this way and that, permeating his mind and overwhelming his thoughts until only an exhausting sensation remained. He managed to slowly raise a leafy appendage upward to graze the glass, weary smile on his face. He could just barely hear Sans's voice, almost sounding as if it were coming from two different places at once.

"... Catch you on the flip side, buddy."

The last thing he saw was a smiling black and white skeletal figure, standing tall behind the scientists as the whole world went dark.

0-0-0-0-0


	12. Boom, Baby

0-0-0-0-0

" _How are you even certain that this will work?"_

" _I'm not," Gaster replied, readjusting his spectacles slowly and running a long, bony finger down the blueprints. "But someone has to try, regardless of what is and is not impossible."_

 _Sans unconsciously stared at the fresh hole in his hand to match the other, the bandages having just recently being removed. To think that he had..._

" _I know it bothers you, Sans," Gaster put a hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "But this is our last chance at potentially developing an artificial soul for the king. I don't think he can withstand being forced to slaughter another human child."_

" _I don't think you can withstand making another monster," Sans eyed the hole in his hand, and Gaster sighed again._

" _All progress comes at a price, Sans. If I can alleviate his majesty's suffering, even just a little, then I will make any sacrifice necessary to do so. That's what you're always harping on about, isn't it, Sans? Minimizing suffering?"_

" _I didn't think you'd..." he shifted his gaze away and onto the schematics for the prototype weapons Gaster and Sans had been developing as backup plans should this one fail. "Nothing. I just... I thought one assistant was all you needed."_

" _Surely you must be joking," Gaster grinned down at him, holding up one holed hand. "I mean, you're my_ right hand man _, after all."_

" _... Heh. Heh heh."_

" _You don't have to worry about being replaced or something silly like that," Gaster readjusted his glasses, placing the papers down onto his cluttered workbench. "We need this new soul to act as a makeshift seventh soul for his majesty to finally shatter the barrier."_

" _Are you sure that we've even developed enough human traits into this one for it to work this time?" Sans asked quietly, hands in the pockets of his slightly dingy laboratory coat. "I mean, without a pure injection of DETERMINATION there's no guarantee that it will even stay alive, let alone act as an impromptu human's soul. I mean, look at it."_

 _Gaster followed his gaze over to where the floating white monster's soul lay dormant in the amniotic fluids, surrounded by glass and letting off a pale egg white light that came from seemingly within and without it at the same time._

" _The determination extractor is still in beta stage, Sans," Gaster breathed through his teeth, beginning to rifle through papers with a practiced efficiency. "And same for the blasters; why did you try to have the prototype sent off for the king to inspect? Those aren't even fully developed yet!"_

" _I just thought he'd have a real_ blast _with 'em," Sans shrugged._

" _... Did-did you just make a joke?" Gaster blinked. "Are you feeling unwell? You never tell jokes."_

" _Monsters change," Sans shrugged._

" _That's the whole problem," Gaster tapped the glowing bundle of energy in the glass prison. "Monster's souls I can recreate. It's almost child's play it's so simple. Creating_ human _souls, on the other hand, is proving to be much more taxing than I ever anticipated. This next one just_ has _to work. This monster has no idea that it, too, will be far more human than it could ever understand, that it will grow to be the salvation of our entire race."_

" _Doc."_

" _Hm?" Gaster blinked, having already begun to lose himself in his work._

 _Sans was standing quite a bit further away from him than before, face emotionless and hands in his pockets._

" _Yes, Sans?" Gaster spun around to face him fully, hands clasped together._

" _Do you... do you regret making me?"_

"At a time like this?"

0-0-0-0-0

"Whuzzat?"

"I _said_ ," Alphys fumed. "Are you seriously taking a nap at a time like this?"

"Sorry, sorry Al," Sans rubbed the dream from his eyes wearily, fighting back the unpleasant memories. "Sorry. Just, uh, caught up in the excitement."

"It is a little overwhelming," she nodded. "I need you to pull the fourth lever, set the third dial to twelve and set the pronged switches to one, five, and seven respectively."

Sans followed her instructions to the letter, watching as thin white clouds of smoky steam began funneling in to the chambers. The lights dimmed further as the power drain took effect yet again, and Sans initialized the transference of the glowing white soul into Asriel's waiting body. It began to shake and rumble inside the containment cell, much as it had done whenever Alphys would periodically inject it with her violet mystery goo, but this time the thrashing died down much faster, leaving the body limp and looking surprisingly frail.

The question remained, he thought numbly to himself as he watched the host body completely absorb the soul, unconsciously welcoming it in through the chest like an old friend, as to whether or not it would simply reject it and cause Alphys's whole ma-

Sans blinked. There, in between the time had for the flickering lights to go in and out, he saw it.

A pair of glowing white eyes, coming from Flowey's containment chamber. It lasted only for a moment but Sans had to be sure. He wiped the frost away from the covering, using the edge of his sleeve to properly get a look at the little golden flower.

He lay completely unmoving. Even his face was no more. He looked... just like an ordinary yellow flower.

"... Sans," Alphys betokened him over from the other side. "I-I think that you should see this for yourself. He tore his eyes away from the limp golden flower and sauntered over to Alphys's side. A sliver of dread was stuck in his throat, and he coughed uneasily into his hand when nothing happened. The interior of Asriel's pod had become filled with a mysteriously smoky purple haze, obscuring the lifeless body. It was clear that he wasn't going to move.

"... Al."

Sans put a hand on her shoulder, but she only shook her head.

"No, no...!" she insisted and refused to budge an inch, unlocking the device and powering it down. "Don't say it, don't even _think_ about it, this worked, it _has_ to work!"

"Alphys."

"Help me get the containment chamber open!" Alphys pleaded with him urgently, unable to reach the other latch from her position. "Come on Sans, we need to get him out of there!"

Sans glanced back at the still, lifeless figures, face expressionless.

"... I'm sorry."

"Don't _say_ that!" Alphys's voice cracked and her glasses grew misty. "It-it worked, it _has_ to have worked, I _need_ it to work...!"

"Al," he held out his arms, trying to calm her down without displaying any of the emotions running rampant in himself. "Come on. Calm down. We knew that this might happen-"

"It's all my fault," she rubbed her eyes behind her glasses with the hem of her lab coat. "I knew this was a m-mistake, I should never have-"

 _Bang._

Both Sans and Alphys jumped at the noise, heads whipping toward the source.

From within the containment chamber, reaching up through the smoke, a small, single white hand was pressed against the glass.

"... Oh my god," Sans breathed, hurrying to help Alphys unlock the pod. Heaping streams of violet vapor swam through the air, clouding their vision. A pair of fuzzy white feet gingerly stepped to the ground. He stood bare and as tall as Sans, and Asriel's purple eyes were nearly glowing as he slowly opened them, taking in a deep breath of the first fresh air he'd had in a long, long time.

Then he grasped his stomach, keeled over, and vomited a long stream of the purple concoction all over Sans's slippers.

"Nice to meet you again too, kid," Sans grinned.

0-0-0-0-0

Frisk looked back and forth between Papyrus and the large television that his eyesockets were currently glued to. It was a small wonder just how Mettaton had acquired so many adoring fans, but that Papyrus was one of them was equally confusing. The two had practically nothing whatsoever in common. Frisk waited for some snide comment from Flowey about being a mechanical talking rectangle, but felt a pang when she turned to see him and he wasn't there.

"... Papyrus?" Frisk asked quietly.

"Yes, tiny human?" he sat relaxed with one arm draped over the edge of Alphys's sofa, looking down at her in the dim glow of the television light. "Is something the matter?"

"How much longer do you think they're gonna be down there?"

"Ahh," he looked upwards to the televised celebrity interview. "To be completely honest, I haven't the faintest idea. Sans said it shouldn't take very long, whatever it is they're working on."

Frisk toyed with the idea of informing him of exactly what they were doing, and briefly wondered how Toriel would react, especially if something went wrong. She chewed her bottom lip in silent contemplation, thinking.

She felt a warm hand on the top of her head, and she looked up to see Papyrus smiling.

"You have nothing to fear, little one!" Papyrus placed his other hand on his chest, beaming. "I am positive that our mutual flower friend is probably being snide and rude to the both of them right at this very moment."

"You're-you're probably right, Paps," Frisk rubbed her arms, feeling slightly cold despite having her favorite striped sweater. "Flowey is pretty tough."

"See?" Papyrus patted her head. "What could possibly go wrong?"

Then the lights went out.

"... Oh, dear. Probably shouldn't have said that."

"Hey!" Undyne could be heard from the kitchen with Toriel, though the lights flickered back on shortly afterwards and the house hummed back to life.

"Still," Papyrus tried to sooth her as she clambered down off the couch and made for the kitchen with the skeleton close in tow. "I'm certain that everything is fine. I mean, the power hasn't been going out _that_ much, and it's not affecting the whole city this time! That's... something!"

"Frisk, Papyrus isn't just talking your ear off to help you calm down," Toriel knelt in her dress, pulling the worried child into a hug. "Your little flower friend will be perfectly fine. Sans already explained everything to me."

 _That_ got her attention.

"He-he did?" Frisk blinked.

"Of course!" she stood, sheathing her hand in a mitten and handing Undyne a hot tray of freshly baked cookies, which she took with her bare hands. "It's something about a 'cognitive transfer' experiment or something of the sort, Alphys seemed very wrapped up in it too."

From Undyne's uneasy expression it was clear that Toriel wasn't exactly being kept in the loop, and for a brief moment Frisk wondered if this was how others sometimes saw her.

She didn't particularly care for it.

"... Undyne," Frisk said at last. "Isn't that hot?"

"Isn't what hot?" she asked distractedly. "Oh, right," she dropped the tray of cookies onto the countertop, dusting her evidently unsinged hands.

"You guys made cookies?" Papyrus looked a little crestfallen. "With-without the great Papyrus?"

"The last time we let you help with cookies they came out with ravioli noodles in them."

"For flavor, duh," Papyrus rolled his eyes. Toriel snickered behind her hand.

"Papyrus, not everything can be improved with pasta," Undyne matched his gaze with a wry grin.

"Blasphemy!" he insisted. "Here, let me show-"

" _Nope,_ " Undyne jerked the tray of cookies away and held them over her head, quivering. "These are for Alphys. She loves macadamia and white chocolate."

"Which would be _supremely_ improved by adding a sprinkle of Parmesan and spaghetti sauce," Papyrus crossed his arms with a harrumph.

"Well," Undyne pretended to think it over. "You do have a fair point."

"All of the Great Papyrus's points are fair!"

"Clearly there's only one way to solve this dispute..." she slowly gave a toothy smile, handing the cookies back to Toriel for safekeeping.

"... Oh no."

"OH YEAH!"

"NO UNDYNE PLEASE DON'T NOOGIE THE POOR SKELETON! NYOO-HOO-HOO!"

Everyone jumped when the power went out yet again, leaving the house in deathly silence. It was a long few seconds before the lights flickered back on, and Toriel quickly wiped the uneasy expression from her face.

"That was probably nothing," Undyne shifted uncomfortably with her grip on Papyrus, head in the crook of her arm.

Frisk looked between them and took a long, deep breath.

"... Mom?" she started. "There's-there's something I think I need to tell you..."

"Certainly. About what, my child?"

Before she could finish, however, they were interrupted by a loud _bang_ from the basement door being kicked open.

"Boom, baby!" Asriel cheered, stark naked and grinning with a humongous, dopey lopsided smile. _"Guess who's back?"_

"... About that."

Toriel hit the floor before the cookies did.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N All these delicious comments give me nourishment. Lemme know what you think! :D

The next chapter should be up pretty soon. Enjoy!


	13. A Sadness Runs Through Him

0-0-0-0-0

Toriel murmured in her sleep, rolling on something soft. She blinked, lying in a cramped, awkward position with her face down on the cushion of a sofa. She briefly entertained the notion of simply shrugging off the pounding headache in favor of the somewhat pleasant, if slightly disturbing dream that she had been having. It had all started with something extremely unsettling, though she couldn't necessarily pin down what, exactly.

"Mom...?"

"Yes Frisk?" she muttered without opening her eyes, slowly rolling to sit up.

"Um... a-actually, it's-it's me."

Toriel forced her bloodshot eyes open, realizing that she was not, in fact, at home having fallen asleep on the couch with the familiar ticking of their grandfather clock but instead in Alphys's living room. And standing directly before her, draped in a much too large lab coat with a belt tied around the middle, was the impossible.

"... Asriel?" her voice cracked and she held a hand to the side of her head to keep from reeling.

"It's... it's me, mom!" he threw his arms wide, lab coat flapping as he did so. "I'm finally home."

Toriel struggled to speak, a lump forming in her throat. She finally managed to stand and kneel before him so that they were the same height and she could look directly into his violet eyes.

He hadn't aged a single day.

Toriel at last released the clenched sob that had been building in her throat, pulling her lost son to her chest in a tight hug.

"My-my baby..." she wept openly, not daring to let go for even an instant should he turn to dust. "Please, please oh god don't let this be another nightmare please-"

"Mom," Asriel's muffled voice came from her bosom. "It's really me; Alphys saved me!"

The memory of what had happened flooded back, cluttered with her rampaging thoughts and wild emotions making processing it all quickly a challenge. In the doorway and attempting to hide (very poorly) was Frisk, just peeking out with Sans standing a little taller behind her, with Alphys poking her nose out above his and Papyrus wide eyed behind them all beside a tense Undyne.

"... You guys can come in now," Asriel grinned, waving at them. "Mom is okay."

" _Mom_ is okay," Toriel repeated, tears streaming down her cheeks, trying not to let her voice crack again. " _You're_ okay, you're-you're okay, my _baby boy is alive!_ "

"Thank doctor Alphys," Sans folded away a pair of square glasses. "She's the hero here."

"I-wha- _me_?" she spluttered, red creeping into her cheeks. "Oh-oh, no no no, I-I'm not a hero-"

"I beg to differ," Undyne's hand made its way to her shoulder, somehow making her blush even harder. "Bringing a lost child back to his mother. Seems pretty damned heroic if you ask me. Sexy, even."

Alphys had to excuse herself to stem the sudden nosebleed.

"This-this is what they've been working on, Mom," the former flower held out his arms, the sleeves draped far too long over his hands. "Doctor Alphys and Sans have been working so hard on a way to bring me back... and they did! I'm finally home, Mom!"

Throughout Asriel's speech, Toriel remained utterly silent, quietly weeping with one hand gripping her mouth tightly, her eyes focusing on something far in the distance.

"... Mom?" Asriel asked, worried. "Is-is it something I said? Mom?"

"I never thought I'd hear your voice again." she blinked through the tears, slowly pulling her hand from her mouth to embrace him. "My little prince. I made peace with never seeing you again. I-I spread you _ashes..._ "

"It's okay, Mom," Asriel struggled to keep her from looking down, using two fingers to prod her head back up to look at him, even though her eyes were still downcast. "I'm back. You don't have to worry anymore! I'm-I'm _home_. I can explain everything-"

"There will be time for that later," she shook her head in a bit of a daze, eyes still slightly unfocused. "Just come here, Asriel. If this really is a dream I want it to last just a little bit longer. Please."

The watching group let the mother and son have their moment of silence, wordlessly embracing and listening to the sound of half giddy laughter and half heart wracking sobs.

"Whelp," Sans spun his slippers on the cool linoleum, clapping his hands together. "I think the guests have overstayed their welcome, let's give 'em some space, ey?"

Sans didn't make it a meter away before a floating blazing white hot magical arrow descended upon him from behind, jabbing him back toward the living room. He shot Undyne a look, but she only shrugged. Sans blinked, taking the hint and slowly shuffling in where Toriel sat with Asriel tucked up close to her, arm wrapped tight around him with a large smile on his face.

Toriel, unfortunately, had a pretty good poker face.

"Asriel tells me that Alphys and you are responsible for returning my son from beyond the grave," she asked conversationally, as if talking about the weather.

"That's pretty much the gist of it," he shrugged without taking his hands out of his pockets. He fumbled to keep a grip on the pair of square spectacles, suddenly feeling an odd pang of guilt which he was quick to bury.

"I-I wanted to thank you," she said softly, standing to again kneel, this time before Sans with a gentle look in her eyes. It made him want to cover his cheeks from the look she was giving him; he wasn't entirely sure if skeletons could blush, but he might have been doing so.

"Hey, think nothin' of it, your majesty," he shrugged once again. "Can't have the house getting too quiet, can we?"

"Sans."

"Y-yeah your majesty."

"You can still call me Tori, I'm not mad," she grinned at him with a slow half sad half cheerful smile.

"It wasn't his idea to keep it a secret!" Asriel interjected, flopping around on the couch to look at them. "I mean, if that was what you were gonna say. I-I asked them not to tell anybody about the whole 'being a flower' thing. I-I just... I couldn't stand breaking your heart all over again."

Sans and Toriel stared at him before slowly looking back to each other.

She leaned downward, arms on his shoulders before kissing him, leaving his mind shocked and dull. He suddenly felt gravity obeying its own laws and wasn't sure which way to fall from sheer surprise, but some small part of his brain urged him onward to lean into the kiss, the furious glowing blue blush now much more apparent.

"Ew, gross!" Asriel wailed from the sofa, covering his eyes with the too long arm of his lab coat. "Come on, man! That's my _mom_ you're sticking your nasty lips on! _Blech!_ "

Toriel and Sans broke away with awkward chortles, eyes locking for just a few bare moments that said just as much as the short kiss did. Sans's dopey grin matched her own as she stood and readjusted her dress, her smile lighting up the dark room.

"Thank you, Sans," she put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks to you and the good doctor Alphys, I've been given a second chance to be a better mother; you gave my baby boy a second chance at life."

"Sorry about keeping you in the dark for so long," Sans struggled to brush _that_ little bit under the rug. "We just, uh... really didn't want to wind up getting you excited for something that might have been a dead end."

"I'm glad things worked out the way that they did," she picked up Asriel in one arm effortlessly, her child laughing as she did so. "You have no idea what this means to me," her voice wavered. "My-my life is _different_ now."

"In a good way?" he asked hopefully.

"In a good way," she laughed, putting her spare hand on his head. "You are one of the best things in my life, Sans."

 _Still just a friend after all. Always just a friend._

"Am I at least number two?" Asriel turned to her and asked.

"Hey, nothing wrong with bronze medal," she chuckled, earning an offended look from the kid.

"There's TONS of things wrong with that!"

Toriel couldn't hear him over Sans's relieved laughter. She was quick to join him, and for a brief moment the exhaustion from days of no sleep, the constant worry lines, the aches from awkwardly waiting for what might be a hopeless situation all disappeared, just for a little while, in their laughter. Undyne wanted to join them, she really did, but she felt her place was better next to Alphys until everyone calmed down and the situation defused a bit more.

Papyrus hardly noticed Frisk hiding behind his leg, chewing uncomfortably on one finger.

"What's the matter, little one?" Papyrus leaned down and asked in his quietest voice, which unfortunately wasn't very quiet at all. "Is something the matter?"

"No, no," she lied. "... Well, yes. It's just, um..."

"Yes...?" Papyrus motioned for her to continue while the others were still distracted with the rejoicing family.

"... It's nothing," she shook her head as Toriel beckoned her over for a hug, nearly sprinting the short distance. "Thanks for listening to me, Papy."

"No worries, tiny human! The Great Papyrus is always here to help!"

 _Although what I helped with I have absolutely no idea. How peculiar._

0-0-0-0-0

He could no longer hear the chirrup of birdsong this early in the morning, or perhaps it was just because there were no windows this deep down.

Sans stood in the basement of Alphys's home, her messy laboratory feeling vast around him as he stared with empty eye sockets directly at the wide screen. It was the same thing every time he ran the program, the same variables and same outcomes. His eyes drifted from the terminated program before starting the rerun, hands deep in his pockets and clenched to ward off the cold that he didn't feel.

Time and time again he watched Alphys's monitor display the exact same thing, over and over and over again, and each time he still couldn't believe it.

The cool bottle in his hand was over half empty, and he finished off the remainder of the amber liquid to drown the roller coaster in his heart and numbly focus on the graphs. The charts wouldn't, couldn't lie. The system was built off of Gaster's very own quantum timeline observation device. It wasn't perfect, but it was close enough, and that just made the numbness creeping in a little bit worse. It made him want to just give in to the hopelessness that maybe it really was impossible, staring up at the unchanging graphs. He finished off the bottle with a quick swig, letting it burn his throat until it set fire to the sadness that ran through him.

No changes whatsoever in the timeline. No little hiccups. No tears or significant branching iterations. No cataclysmic events that could rupture the entire timeline into shreds and destroy the universe from the inside out.

Until today.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Hey there, readers! Hope you enjoyed the story so far, please let me know if you did! I'm always looking to improve in any way that I can, so also please lemme know if I missed any spelling errors or typos, 'cause, y'know, I'm not exactly perfect. See you in the next chapter, errbody.


	14. Keeping It Together

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Sans stared at the dark child down the Judgment Hall, eye sockets narrowing as she slowly approached. Small but sturdy knife clenched in one hand, her smile spread over her rosy cheeks, but it was hollow and empty. He studied her as she drew closer, leaning against one of the pillars.

"Hey there," he flipped a hand up amicably, though the child did not respond. "You look frustrated about something. Guess that means I'm pretty good at my job, huh?"

Her fist tightened around the hilt of the knife, gleaming in the morning sun. The little smile on her face twitched, and he counted it as a small but personal victory.

"Still not gonna say anything?" he asked as she stood before him, still and silent. "Man, you really are more of an 'actions over words' kinda kid, huh?"

The child was on him before he could react.

Her knife swung in a wide arc where his head had just been, leaving him bare milliseconds to fall backwards through the void to escape, his grin still plastered onto his face.

"D'you mind waiting 'til I've at least given my spiel?" he mocked her as she swung with all her force again and again, each time barely managing to slip away from her. "If you thought I was mad about the whole slaughtering everybody I loved thing you should try interrupting again and see what I'm like when I'm _really_ mad."

The tip of the knife sliced where his nose would have been if he had a nose, and he chuckled.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, giving his fingers a snap and summoning a pair of large white animalistic skulls that phased into existence behind him. "Some people just gotta do things the hard way."

He could feel the hum of the energy blast before he heard it roaring overhead, incinerating the place the human had just been mere moments before. She nimbly dodged from one side to the other, her large smile shining just as brightly as her knife as she sidestepped another blast and stabbed with a deep lunge. He warped away just as she was struggling to regain her composure after missing, and he took full advantage of her mistake with a summoned wall of bone spears –

and against all odds, she dove through a small, almost unseen empty spot in the bone wall and swung mightily at him yet again, relentless in her assault.

Just what was this kid _made_ of?

He could feel the sweat from the effort beginning to collect at his brow, his heartbeat drumming in his head as he felt the magical strain of summoning blaster after blaster in panicked attempt to slow her down as she drew closer and closer, he could see the red irises of her eyes as the knife screamed downward-

-Sans jerked awake, head feeling heavy and numb. He stared upward at the ceiling in the dark, the nightmare still fresh in his mind. He let his breathing slow as he forced himself to calm down, remind himself that it was only a dream. Just a bad dream. Again.

 _But it's never just a dream, is it?_

He listened to the sound of Toriel's breathing in the bed beside him, and his eyes wandered until he was staring through the ceiling. He stayed like that for what felt like hours, rigid and still, until finally he crept out of bed and grabbed his jacket and slippers.

There was work to be done.

0-0-0-0-0

"Morning Paps," Sans stifled a yawn as he dropped into the chair across from his brother.

"Good morning, Sans," Papyrus watched as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "You're looking worse than usual."

"Gee, thanks," he snorted, dropping in a couple of sugar cubes and taking a quick swig to force himself awake.

"I mean it, Sans. You look like you were just hit by a truck."

"I've just been really busy at Alphys's lab is all," he hid his yawn behind his hand again.

Papyrus stared at him for a full ten seconds.

"... You didn't even make a 'bone tired' joke," Papyrus blinked. "You must feel _terrible._ "

"I'll live," Sans tried not to rub the bags under his eyes. "If I don't I'll probably die."

Papyrus only shook his head. It was quiet for a little while, and Sans appreciated it while it lasted. It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming.

So why did he feel so awful?

He resisted the urge to rub his eyes, staring down into his morning coffee. It felt as if there were something horribly important that he was supposed to remember. He couldn't think of anyone's birthday, so that couldn't have been it. It felt much more important than something so trivial though, at least in comparison.

What _was_ it?

He let his mind wander back to the odd dreams, and his conversation with Alphys the previous night.

 _You aren't the only ones having the nightmares. The ones where everyone d- where everyone goes... missing._

That alone had disturbed Sans. Undyne and Alphys having the same dream as him was unsettling to say the least. He briefly wondered just how many other monsters were having identical nightmares revolving around the kid.

His dark reflection stared back up at him from the coffee, matching his deep frown.

There was simply no way that the Frisk from his dream was the same child. She cried for accidentally stepping on a butterfly once, to imagine her in the same place as that lookalike was...

"... Sans?"

He blinked, glancing up.

"What's up Paps?"

"Are you certain that you're feeling alright?" Papyrus asked quietly.

"Yeah. 'Course. Why?"

"You've been grimacing like a gargoyle for the past fifteen minutes."

Sans flinched, having forgotten that he wasn't necessarily by himself in Alphys's lab anymore.

"Just thinking," he responded carefully. "Y'know, you don't exactly look like a hundred bucks, either."

And it was true. Papyrus's eyes were half open as he cooked breakfast, his shoulders slumped and his back bowed.

"Yes, well..." he shifted uncomfortably. "I just haven't been sleeping well is all."

Sans felt a creeping chill crawl up the back of his neck.

"You've been having... nightmares?" he guessed.

Papyrus didn't look at him, but nodded.

"Terrible nightmares," he stared off far into the distance before shaking himself. "But that's not important. What _is_ important is ensuring that everyone starts off their day with their third most important meal!"

"Breakfast is only third?" Sans blinked.

"Well, naturally. You can't have spaghetti for _breakfast_."

Papyrus paused.

"... Can-can you?"

As Papyrus was pondering the deep and philosophical questions in life, he was interrupted by a loud shout that caused both of them to jump.

" _Help! I need help!_ "

Sans bolted out of the chair and was stumbling halfway up the stairs in moments, reflexively summoning a small semicircle of bones around his fist as he took the stairs three at a time. He could already feel his teeth rattling at the humming of energy warping into existence behind him from the blasters as he skidded to a halt in front of the bedroom doorway, which was wide open. He clicked his fingers and the Gaster blaster disintegrated when he spotted Toriel kneeling over the limp form of Asriel, who was shivering and shaking in her arms violently.

"Help-" she breathed, eyes rolling madly towards Sans. "I need help! It's Asriel; something's wrong, something's wrong with my son!"

Sans took in every bit of information he could in the sparse few seconds that he could. Toriel had her boy clutched to her chest but from the sporadic spasms. He was kicking out with one leg wildly, his shoulders taut as he almost seemed to be struggling against her. If he hadn't been jerking his head about Sans might not have noticed that he was foaming at the mouth with an odd purple froth. And was it just his imagination, or was he leaking so much sweat that he almost seemed to be... melting?

"We're going to Alphys," Sans said breathlessly, placing a hand on her shoulder. " _Now._ "

"Then there's no time to lose!" she stood instantly, Asriel in her arms. "Let's go!"

"Tori, it'd be faster if I went-"

"Like _hell_ I'm letting you take my baby! Just do your thing, do it _now!"_

Frisk and Papyrus barely made it to the doorway before the trio vanished from the world.

They fell through the void, further and further into the darkness. Sans struggled and strained to keep a proper grip on Toriel and the violently shaking child, the breath squeezed out of him as they plummeted through miles and miles of nothing.

They reappeared a few feet above Alphys's and Undyne's front yard, crushing a small bed of golden flowers. Toriel was on her feet in seconds, closely followed by Sans to the front door.

"Al?" he called as he rang the doorbell and banged on the door. "Al! Alphys! Open up! Open the door already, hurry!"

There was a scurrying and skittering inside as the front locks were being undone, the sound of Alphys's confused voice greeting them on the other side.

"Sans?" she asked sleepily as she unlocked the door at last. "I thought you just left for _oh my stars!"_

"Help," Toriel asked pleadingly, looking as if she were going to faint. "Please – doctor, please, _I can't lose one of my children again!_ "

"Just take it easy, Tori," Sans put a hand on her shoulder, which was quivering from the shaking child. "Alphys knows what to do. Right, Al?"

"Uh..."

" _Alphys!"_

"I-I don't know!" she threw up her arms. "How was I supposed to know that he'd have a seizure and start foaming stabilization compone-"

She froze, staring at them.

"I have an idea," she motioned them inside, grabbing her white lab coat from a rack beside the basement which was overflowing with coats as it was. "This is absolutely nuts, but I think I know what's wrong."

"Tell us on the way down," Sans said, out of breath as they followed swiftly. Asriel's condition was only growing worse by the minute, his eyes now rolling back into his head and making gurgling sounds. "Just please tell me that he's gonna make it."

"I-I can't...!"

"Alphys, if you never do anything again, I swear I'll stop being so lazy! Just, please, just help us _now_."

"... I think I know how to save him," she said with newfound determination, fists clenched tightly. "Set him on the examination table; good, good. It's a good thing I stocked up on stabilization component."

Alphys removed a large swirling beaker of purple liquid from a rack, popping the cork off and letting a little trail of steam waft up that smelled indescribable. In one swift motion she forced open Asriel's mouth, jamming the open end of the beaker inside and closing his lips around it until he began to swallow. Toriel watched the proceedings with pure, unadulterated horror, trembling hand over her mouth the entire time.

It fell dead silent.

Asriel slowly, slowly grew still, no longer shaking violently. His breathes came fewer and longer, less ragged. Sans let out a quiet breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, his hands clenched tightly in his pockets.

"... I think- I mean, I think he's going to be alright now," Alphys felt his forehead with the back of her palm, letting out a long sigh.

"Thank _god,_ " Toriel nearly collapsed where she stood, draping her arms over the scientist's shoulders and pulling her into a hug. "Alphys, you _beautiful_ woman."

"Hey," Undyne stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at them. "Only _I'm_ allowed to call her that. What's the fuss about?"

"Had a bit of a scare, that's all," Sans let out another shaky breath. "Told ya Al would know just what to do."

Asriel groaned from the examination table, his eyes fluttering open as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"... Ew," he murmured, letting his mother take his other hand. "Man that tastes gross."

"Hey," Sans gave a little wave to him, seeing the confusion on his face. "And here I thought I was peeved you barfed on my slippers. If you'd have died you'd make me _really_ mad."

"Uh... s-sorry?" Asriel looked around the room to them all, watching as Undyne muttered something into her cellphone. "I-I really have no idea how I got here."

"You went into a stabilization fluid withdrawal induced seizure," Alphys explained, passing him a cloth to wipe his face with, which he took with a small thanks. "At least, that's what I'm assuming happened. You were starting to lose your form until I injected you with another dose."

"... Thanks for helping me," Asriel said without looking up.

"If you don't m-mind," Alphys asked Toriel. "Um, I'd like to run a few more tests while you're all here. Just want to make sure this doesn't happen to him in the future."

"Of course. I understand, doctor," Toriel nodded after a moment.

"Hey," Sans's hand was still on her shoulder, and he gently pulled her away.

"Yes," she nodded to him. "I wanted to thank you. Once more you proved instrumental in saving my child."

"Tori," he asked slowly, ensuring that Alphys was still busy with Asriel and Undyne was on the phone with what sounded like Papyrus. "Y'know, we've been together for almost a year now. Maybe now's not the best time, but, uh..."

"Yes?" she asked, and he shifted uneasily.

"... 'cause, y'know, if you don't wanna answer, you don't have to," he held up his hands. "It's just to sate my own curiosity. You don't really talk a lot about life in the Underground. What... did you mean, lose one of your children again? Did you have another kid aside from Asriel?"

Toriel grew very, very still and looked away from him. That was all the answer he needed.

"... I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," she turned back with a strange expression in her glistening eyes. "It-" she started to choke before clearing her throat. "It was a long, long time ago."

Sans's grip on her hand grew a little tighter, and he looked up at her with a small smile. She squeezed back appreciatively and wiped her eyes with one sleeve.

"... Thank you for everything."

"'Ay, don't worry 'bout it," he shrugged.

"Easier said than done."

"Let's just get back to happier days, eh?" Sans grinned awkwardly.

"I think I'd like that very much, Sans," she said with a matching smile.

0-0-0-0-0

Sans watched as Asriel played with Frisk, running around the house and giggling like nothing had ever happened.

Like he hadn't just been a flower the previous day.

Like he hadn't just been vomiting the only thing keeping him alive.

Like he hadn't been inches from death just a few hours earlier.

Sans mentally shrugged. Kids tended to be a lot tougher than anyone gave them credit for. Frisk, for example. She was busy tying a small blanket into a makeshift cape for Asriel as he danced back and forth impatiently with that same dopey, carefree grin on his face. Sans hid his chuckle behind his quantum physics book, turning the page. Frisk had fallen into the Underground with nothing more than the clothes on her back and a little walking stick, and wound up saving them all and becoming a sort of ambassador for monsters, which turned out to be more of an empty title than anything as monsters could generally be their own diplomats, but she was more than grateful for the title nonetheless.

He turned another page displaying photons and atoms in a wave graph, absentmindedly watching the kids as he'd promised Toriel before she had to leave for the school. Granted, it was out of the corner of his eye socket, but he was watching them nonetheless.

Even Papyrus had his own job as a security guard for a museum, and Sans was a little bit jealous of his brother's 'get up and go' that he always seemed to have in plentiful amounts.

He watched as Asriel placed a too big crown of flowers on Frisk's head, giggling madly as it fell into her eyes.

He really was a completely different person than the foul tempered flower that he was before. This kid seemed... innocent.

 _So did the other one._

Sans fought off a small shudder that started at the nape of his neck, forcing the ugly thought away and directing his attention back to his book. Humans had such peculiar concepts of developed mathematical formalisms. Surely that was enough to keep him distracted from anything that his mind actually wanted to focus on.

 _Like the nightmares._

Sans shook his head, focusing on his reading.

There was a small quote that made him chortle, something that the last owner of the book had highlighted.

 _The essence of life is statistical improbability on a colossal scale._

Humans could be so weird.

He glanced back over his shoulder to check on Frisk. She was busying herself with trying to put Asriel's ears into pigtails, much to the dismay of Asriel. Sans grinned, shaking his head again. It helped him keep his mind off of things, just watching them play.

 _I've done the scans again and again, Sans. His overall health is just... one. Just one._

That was something he was still struggling to comprehend how Frisk just accepted so easily. That if Asriel were to get hurt, even just a little, he could die.

 _And?_ she had stared at him. _That just means I gotta protect him; just like when he was a flower. Not really any changes there. It's okay, really, Uncle Sans. I promise I'll take care of him. He's still family._

He smiled a little as he started to doze off on the sofa.

For so many years he'd been lead to believe that all humans were bad, and yet here this kid was showing again and again just what a big heart she had. It was-

-Raining outside, that was a pleasant change of pace from the usual sunshine that he expected from the resets. Sans almost glided down the dark Judgment Hall, stepping through a small puddle of blood that stained his slippers as he passed numbly through it. Sometimes he could almost pretend that they were really free through the barrier. But that was just a pleasant daydream.

He drifted away from stained glass windows, listening to the drumming of the rain. He stared long and hard down the dark shadows of the hall, seeing nothing but still remaining just as tense.

The reset was going to come sooner or later. He just knew it. Whether he would remember everything was debatable. That, he knew too.

The kid could only die so many times before turning back time.

All he had to do was wait.

He felt a creeping, tingling sensation on the back of his neck, and he turned to see the king standing solemnly at the end of the hall.

"... Your majesty," Sans nodded once.

"The child has been transferred to the containment coffin," Asgore informed him quietly.

"Didn't think this would turn out to be such a _grave_ situation."

Asgore didn't laugh.

Neither did Sans.

"... Too soon-"

"Yes," Asgore nodded once more. "Too soon."

"Alphys should be preparing the soul extractor soon," Sans stuck his hands in his pockets and pulled out a single cigarette, lighting it with a brush of magic from the tip of his thumb. "If the human even still has it. I'm surprised that they still haven't reset yet."

"I have yet to have a full report on these... 'resets' that you and doctor Alphys have been informing me of," Asgore walked with him toward the throne room. "I'm curious as to the extent of these anomalies in the timeline."

"I doubt it would do anyone much good, but I'll get them for you," Sans said softly, sticking his hands back in his pockets as they walked past the stain on the floor. He scowled, feeling his brother's scarf in his pocket and clenching his hand around it until he began to lose feeling in his knuckles.

"... Do you feel... something wrong?" Asgore paused just before the entrance to the throne room.

"Yeah." Sans put out his cigarette, already having mentally prepared himself for the inevitable. "We're about to have never had this conversation."

"That means... This would be more of these... anomalies."

"Yeah."

"So I see. Good luck, Sans."

"Thanks, 'gore. Catch you on the flip side."

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

I'm always looking to improve, so please let me know if I missed any typos!

If you liked it, please do let me know in the reviews. The next chapter should be up soon!


	15. Free Advice

0-0-0-0-0

Sans walked down the streetlamp lit sidewalk, vanishing in the dark spaces between the little circles of lights, hands tucked deep into the pockets of his jacket to ward off the slight chill of the oncoming storm. His footsteps were long and slow, and he silently took in the quiet of the world for what little time the city was dark. He could have simply teleported to Alphys's laboratory and saved himself the twenty minute walk, but it was peaceful out tonight in lieu of the gathering storm clouds, and Sans enjoyed it while it lasted. He loved the static power in the air, It reminded him of a long gone memory that he couldn't quite place.

He took in a deep breath of the cool air, letting the breeze blow away his worries as he slowly approached the multiple storied house with a wide array of oddly shaped lightning rods. Sans walked with deliberation up to the steel door before giving it a couple of quick raps with his knuckles. Undyne answered a few moments later, wearing, much to his surprise, a pair of safety goggles hanging from around her neck and a too short white lab coat.

"What's up, short stack?" Undyne greeted him in tiredly.

"Don't call me that," Sans deadpanned. "And what's up with the gear? Are you cosplaying as Alphys now or somethin'?"

"Ha ha," she laughed humorlessly, swiftly closing out the night chill behind them. "I've actually been helping Al in the lab."

"Wow. Color me surprised," he blinked as she led him toward the basement. "Alphys _hates_ people watching her work."

"I haven't just been _watching_ , I'm not some cheerleader," she rolled her eyes as they descended the steps, the light slowly growing brighter as they did so. "I've been helping Al with her latest project."

"She's been letting you help with that?" he asked in mild surprise.

"It's been more playin' gopher than anything," he could hear her frown. "But, yeah. It's been kinda fun."

"Good to see you're here, Sans!" Alphys greeted him warmly as the automatic door to the lab _whooshed_ open. "Things have been crazy, I'm glad you're finally back."

Sans whistled as he looked around the lab, noting the many, many additions of tacked up graphs and pictures of apparently random people and monsters connected with string. "Wow. You've been... busy down here. What's goin' on?"

"So," she rubbed her hands together, placing her blowtorch down on the workbench. "You know how the timeline anomaly identifier picked up a spike on the radar a few days ago, right?"

"Go on..." he motioned with one hand.

"I think I've pinpointed the exact time and location of the next anomaly spike."

"So spill the beans," Sans stuck his hands back in his pockets.

"We've got approximately one week and six hours before it happens."

Sans felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. His heart felt like it had suddenly been encased in a block of ice, and the chill was slowly spreading through his bones.

Sans sucked in a breath through his teeth, his entire body tense. There was no mistaking it.

The resets were coming.

"Are you positive?" he asked in a low tone, watching as Undyne rifled through a folder full of charts.

"I've done the scans at least a dozen times," Alphys nodded grimly. "The anomaly spike is going to be big. Bigger than any of the previous ones from last year before we left the underground. This-this is _huge_ , Sans. I mean, it's the largest one recorded."

Sans ran a hand over his head, letting out a long, slow breath.

"... Okay."

Alphys blinked.

"... Okay?" she balked. "That's all you have to say?"

"It's in the future," he shrugged. "We'll worry about it when the time comes."

"You're... awfully calm about this," Alphys noted.

"I'm screaming on the inside," he quipped, pulling out a rolled up paper from inside his pocket. "Brought this for ya', by the way."

He tossed the blueprints to Alphys and she barely managed to catch them, fumbling before readjusting her glasses to better study them.

"... Oh my god," she let out a low whistle. "You actually had them. Gaster's blueprints for the first core."

"So can you do it now?" he asked quietly. "Can you help me build a sufficient generator with the capacity to power a phase distortion machine?"

"I... think?" she rubbed her scalp with one hand, studying the worn writing and trying to ignore what appeared to be a large coffee stain. "It'll take me a while. Never was much good at reading hands."

"Estimation, Al. Time is kinda of the essence here."

"I'd say..." she gulped. "About... five? Six days?"

Sans paused, hands deep in his pockets as he stared at her.

"... No," his mind was racing. "No way-"

"I am _not_ comfortable about this," Alphys rolled the blueprints back up, beginning to pace in front of her workbench. "The risks involved are high and I do _not_ believe in coincidences, Sans. What if this and the spike are related-?"

"We have to _try_ ," Sans pleaded as she frowned. "Come on, Al- this could be our chance, our _only_ chance to bring back the one monster with the knowledge to stop the anomalies from occurring ever again!"

"Yeah," she nodded once. "And it could also result in ripping a hole in the universe."

"We _literally_ brought a child back from the dead," he tried to hold back his anger. "You think we can't pull this off, too?"

"That's not what I'm worried about, Sans," she said quietly.

"Then _what?_ " his eye twitched. "We can do this, Alphys, it'll be just like old times-"

"Sans," Alphys gritted her teeth. "Gaster's methods tended to be... well, unorthodox.

Sans stared at her, struggling to find the right words.

"Everything that could possibly happen," he breathed, fists shaking in his pockets. "Everything that could possibly be a concern, and you're worried about his _methods?!_ "

"You know how Gaster was a-about humans," she shifted from foot to foot, and it was clear from Undyne's expression that she was extremely uneasy.

"I can't believe this," Sans massaged his temples. "I can't believe I'm hearing this."

"I'm just saying," she held up her hands defensively. "M-maybe, if we even _can_ pull this off, maybe we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket."

"Just..." Sans held his hands over his eyes for a moment, letting out a breath before sticking them back in his pockets. "... Fine. Y'know, it's not that big a deal."

"... It isn't?" she blinked.

"No," he shrugged. "It's fine. You just take care of the second core, I'll take care of the phase distortion generator."

"I-I mean, S-Sans-" she started uncomfortably, but with a snap of his fingers he was already gone.

0-0-0-0-0

It was raining a heavy drizzle before long.

Sans sat with his jacket hood deep over his head, hands tucked deeply into his pockets as he stared out from his place on the park bench through the rain at the wide open park. He glanced up at the sky, half expecting to see the glistening ceiling of the Underground instead of the hanging clouds.

 _Seven days._

The words bounced around in his head over and over again. His fists tightened as he struggled to stay awake, his head feeling heavy and numb.

Didn't Alphys understand how important this was? Did she really think things were just going to stay the way that they were forever?

 _Seven days until the spike._

"... Grilby's," he muttered at long last, straining to ward off the exhaustion as he stumbled to his feet. If anyone would understand (or at the very least listen to) what he was going through, it would be Grillby. Besides, it had been far too long since he'd visited the fire elemental's new pub that he'd built from the ground up. It had taken the collaboration of his daughter and a handful of slightly baffled human construction workers, but Grillby's new place was definitely a sight for sore eyes. The warm little lights in the wide windows beckoned him in with a comforting waver, and Sans could still smell the fresh, slightly smoky scent of polished cedar. The wafting aroma of cooking food drifting out from the kitchen drew him further in, and he took a seat at one of the bar stools before the pristine (if slightly burned) countertop.

"Hey, Grillbz," Sans gave a halfhearted wave to the flaming bartender, trying to keep from yawning.

"You're up awfully late, Sans," the whispery voice of Grillby floated out from where his mouth might have been. "You look... pretty terrible."

"Thanks, I try my best," he swept his head with a small black comb before sticking it back in his pocket. "I'll take a cold one. Keep 'em comin'."

"Long night?" Grillby passed him a bottle from behind the counter.

"Yeah," Sans said after a long drought. "Guess you could say that."

He looked back and forth between the bottle and the bartender, listening to the drumming of the rain on the windows. Grillby busied himself with cleaning a few crystalline mugs with a cloth, continuing from one to another until each one shined.

"... Grillby," Sans asked after a few minutes of silence. "If you knew you only had seven days until something horrible happened, what would you do?"

"That's... slightly more profound than your usual knock knock jokes," Grillby said after a moment of contemplation. "Sans, are you feeling alright?"

"Ah, fuhgeddaboudit," he grinned forcefully. "Just got a lot on my mind, y'know? I'll take another, by the way."

Grillby absentmindedly passed him bottle after bottle, each one Sans downed with enthusiasm.

"I suppose..." Grillby paused his constant cleaning for a moment. "If I knew I only had seven days left, I would spend more time with my family."

"You wouldn't... y'know... try to prevent it from ever happening?" Sans asked, finishing his bottle and motioning for another.

"Sometimes all one can do is go with the current," Grillby said sagely. "And should the worst occur and I found myself with no more than a week to live my life, I'd do just that. Live what remained of my life to the fullest."

Sans chortled.

"... What's so funny?" Grillby blinked, readjusting his glasses.

"Nothin'," Sans shook his head. "Just... I should come to you for advice more often."

"I wouldn't advise it," Sans could hear the smile in his voice. "Free advice, more often than not, tends to be absolutely atrocious."

"I'll hafta take your word for it," Sans shrugged, his head feeling heavy. "'nother bottle?"

"I believe you've had enough for now," Grillby crossed his arms.

"What?" Sans blinked woozily. "Why?"

"You've been drinking ketchup for the past five minutes."

Sans double checked the bottle he'd been drinking from, staring at it. Then he took another swig.

"... Not half bad, actually."

"You should be with your family."

"Huh?"

"You never ask hypothetical questions, Sans," Grillby stared at him with an odd look behind his glasses. "If there's something going on in your life that makes you feel like you're running out of time, then the best proposal I can suggest is to spend what time you have with the people that love you. Though take that with a grain of salt, it's free advice."

Sans stared at him for a long minute before slowly shaking his head.

"... Yeah." he gradually stood, tucking his hands back into his pockets. "You've got a point. Catch you later, Grillbz."

"Uh, Sans?" Grillby started, but the skeleton had already drunkenly teleported out of the bar. Grillby pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.

Someday he was going to get Sans to pay his damned tab.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Hey there, readers!

I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and thanks for all the support. ^-^

Please let me know if there are any errors or typos I missed. Next chapter should be up soon!


	16. Say Goodnight

0-0-0-0-0

Sans stumbled through the front door out of the rain, swaying as he dropped face first onto the sofa. He simply lay there for what felt like hours and hours, listening to the steady, soothing drumming of the rain. It matched the pounding in the side of his head. He curled up on the couch, pulling his knees up to his chest and shivering, squeezing his eyes shut in attempt to sleep. He could feel the aches from exhaustion deep in his bones, but no matter how he tried proper sleep simply would not come to him. He drifted in a state between consciousness and dreams, unable to commit to either. Sighing and rubbing his temples, Sans tried to block out the thoughts that cluttered his mind, his head still feeling heavy and dull from the alcohol.

Unfortunately, the buzz had long since worn off, and all he felt from it was slightly sick and dizzy, and his mouth felt a bit fuzzy. He groaned into the cushions yet again when he felt something soft and warm come into contact with him. He slowly blinked awake, looking about in the dark but seeing no one.

Someone had placed a blanket over him.

He gave a small smile, curling up and pulling it over his head to dry off the rest of the rain that he had brought in with him. Sans gradually sat up, swaddling himself in the blanket and letting out a long, quiet breath, thinking.

 _Spend what time you have with the people that love you._

Sans felt a buzzing in his pocket and he inwardly groaned. He mentally kicked himself for taking off from Alphys's place, but it was a bit too late to change that now. He checked his phone with one hand, still not leaving the warmth of the blankets as the glow lit up the darkness of the room.

The message from Alphys was surprisingly much longer than any messages he was used to receiving from her, and he scanned it quickly for important details but only surmised that she wanted him back at the lab in the morning. He wasn't looking forward to it, but the guilt would continue to hang on his shoulders until he apologized to her. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to put it off until seeing her in person, but he was just too tired to do it immediately. He sent a simple 'ok' as a response, sticking the phone back into his wet pocket and sighing.

"Uncle Sans?"

Sans nearly leaped off the couch in shock, heartbeat hammering away in his ears.

" _Hot Belgian Waffles,_ " Sans breathed heavily, hand on his chest as he stared through the dark at Frisk. She was rubbing her eyes with one hand, other hand tucked behind her back. She wore panda print pajamas, identical to the ones he had seen Asriel wearing previously. "I nearly jumped outta my skin, kiddo." he let out an uneasy chuckle.

"Sorry..." she mumbled sleepily and clambered up onto the couch to sit beside him. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"What's got you up at three in the morning, kid?"

"Asriel snores," she grumbled, and Sans snickered. "... What's so funny?"

"Sorry," he grinned down at her as she snuggled next to him, using his belly as a pillow. "Still thinking of him as a flower. Snoring flowers are just kind of a funny image."

"I fail to see the humor in the situation," she frowned, slowly closing her eyes. "He snores _so loud!_ At least if he was still a flower he wouldn't need to sleep."

Sans only shook his head.

They were silent for a while, listening to the drumbeat of the rain on the roof. It was soothing, in a way, and before long Sans had started to finally drift off.

"... Uncle Sans?"

"Hmm?" he replied without opening his eyes.

"... I'm really glad you and Miss Alphys could help Asriel so much. I've never seen him as happy as he is now."

"Don't worry 'bout it," Sans yawned.

"Uncle Sans?"

"Hmm?"

"Is Mom gonna be okay?"

Sans slowly, gradually opened his eyes, forcing himself to focus.

"What makes you ask a question like that, kid?"

"I think..." Frisk started quietly, curling up against him until she wormed her way into the blankets with him. "I think she really worries about Asriel, 'cause Alphys said that if he gets hurt even a little it could be really bad and he has to drink that gross purple stuff every day just to keep from melting like the am-amana-amalagamamas...?"  
"Amalgamates," Sans corrected her quietly, staring out the window at the storm.

"Yeah. Those," she nodded slowly, stifling her own yawn as she struggled to stay awake. "Mom gets really, really worried about him sometimes."

"Is that so."

"Yeah," Frisk yawned again, her speech growing slower. "I tried t'tell her that she doesn't need to worry 'bout Flowey – I mean, Asriel, anymore, but... I mean, I even told her that I'll protect Asriel, but she's still worried... and-and she just seemed so sad but no matter what I say it just doesn't seem t'help..."

She trailed off, mumbling something into his belly that he couldn't quite hear.

"How 'bout we figure it out in the morning?" Sans patted her on the head.

"Okay," she murmured without opening her eyes. "Good night, Daddy."

Sans blinked.

Just when he thought he couldn't possibly love that kid any more than he already did.

She was already breathing heavily, as sleep had carried her away. He could almost feel his heart starting to break, and he felt the sudden urge to dry his eyes as he smiled.

Maybe Grillby really was the best person to come to for advice.

"... Heh. Good night to you too, kiddo."

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Just a bit of fluff that I wrote in some spare time. Next chapter should be significantly longer. See you then! (And thanks for all the comments! They really do brighten up my day. ^_^)


	17. The Visit

0-0-0-0-0

It was still raining when Sans awoke.

He stifled a yawn with one hand and stretched, the soreness in his bones from sleeping in such an awkward position making itself known whenever he moved. He gently slipped off the sofa and covered Frisk with the remaining blankets, careful not to disturb her slumber, setting off for the kitchen to begin making coffee.

It was too early for even Papyrus to be up, and Sans was slightly grateful for the silence. He poured himself a steaming cup in his Black Mesa mug, sipping at while deep in thought. He sat by the kitchen window, letting the steam from his mug condense and collect on the glass. Eventually he let out a quiet sigh through his teeth, forcing his back to straighten and popping his neck bones, physically and mentally preparing for the day.

 _Six days left._

He took a long, slow drought from his coffee, letting the warmth seep into his bones as he lost himself deep in thought.

Six days until the end of the world.

Sans sat for a while by the window, eyes closed and breathing in the scent of his hot coffee, slipping between consciousness and sleep every now and then, nearly spilling his drink a couple of times before setting it on the table with a _clink_.

If he hadn't been paying attention to the quiet of the house he might not have heard the soft, uneven rapping at the front door. Sans blinked in surprise, quietly wondering who would even be up at this hour.

The unexpected guest turned out to be none other than Alphys, who stood completely drenched and shivering on the doorstep.

"G-g-good m-morning," Alphys's teeth were clattering as she squeezed her arms for warmth. She wore fitting pants and a turtleneck, both of which were equally soaked, and Sans silently greeted her in with a wave of his hand.

"Ever tried an umbrella, Al?" Sans passed her a towel to dry herself, and she let out a soft sneeze that shook her whole body.

"I had one," she said miserably, drying her head. "It blew away."

Sans sighed, watching as she draped the towel over her shoulders miserably.

"I'm pretty sure I know why you're here so early..." Sans pulled out a chair for her in the kitchen, pouring her a steaming mug of coffee.

"I-I really wasn't sure h-how to bring it up..." she said eventually after taking a few sips, making a face at the bitter taste before dropping in a few sugar cubes. "Y-you didn't really respond t-to my messages, s-s-so I thought it would b-be better to talk to you in p-person."

"Alright," Sans said resignedly, taking the seat opposite her. "I suppose we might as well get it out of the way. I'm... sorry," he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "For taking off last night. Wasn't exactly the most mature thing of me to do."

"No, n-no," she shook her head, and a few droplets of rain landed on him. "I should have-"

"Al," he interrupted her from behind his mug, taking another long sip. "You can't blame yourself for my jackassery."

Her face reddened and she mumbled something incoherent, but they both looked a bit more satisfied. Alphys started to say something, but stopped with a sniff.

"... Sans, h-have you been drinking again?"

"No," he clamped his mouth shut quickly, feeling a heat in his neck. "You sure you aren't comin' down with somethin'?"

Alphys rubbed her eyes tiredly, sighing.

"That would be just my luck," she said bitterly, drawing the towel a little tighter around her. "The way today's been going I wouldn't be surprised."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sans, I've been working on the second core since the minute you left."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, flabbergasted, but couldn't quite manage to bring himself to speak.

"... I've been doing some thinking too, you know?" Alphys said quietly as she stared into her murky drink. "About-about the spike. And, e-even if I don't like it, you're still right about doctor Gaster still being probably the best and brightest to come to when it involves the timeline fluctuations."

"So... we're still in the game?" Sans asked hopefully.

"If you'd still have my help," she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Alphys, I'd be _honored._ "

"Finally, some good news," she heaved a sigh of relief. "Then we can get-"

"Uh, actually..." Sans coughed into one hand awkwardly, earning a groan from her. "I've... I kinda promised Tori I'd go to the kids' parent teacher meeting today. She's out of town for the next two days for some kind of conference... thing. T'tell you the truth I really didn't hear much after 'parent teacher'."

"Can't Papyrus go in your place?" she asked incredulously. "I mean, honestly, he's practically just as much their parent as you or Toriel are, they'd probably love to have him!"

Sans paused, thinking.

"... Y'know, I probably could go wake him up and ask him."

Alphys stared at him.

"... What?" he blinked.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "I'm just kind of shocked asking him to go for you wasn't the first thing you did."

"Hey," he grumbled, finishing off his coffee. "I'm not _that_ lazy."

It was then that they heard the scrabble of keys amidst the rainfall, and both heads whipped toward the front door to see none other than Papyrus dragging himself in. His attire consisted of a dark brown uniform with many pockets, his trademark red scarfed dangling down his slumped shoulders. Papyrus held a large blue ice pack to his right eye, sluggishly kicking off his boots as he stumbled inside.

"Paps?" Sans gaped at him. "What were you doin' out in the rain? And in _that?_ "

"Good morning to you too, brother," Papyrus answered wearily, dripping rainwater onto the floor in a small puddle. "I'm glad to see you took my advice to heart and finally started getting up at a reasonable hour."

Alphys took the damp towel from around her shoulders and passed it to Papyrus, who merely stood staring at it for a few moments before carefully, gingerly attempting to dry his head with it.

"What's up with the bag of ice, bro?" Sans felt an uncomfortable creeping sensation going up his spine, but he fought it off.

"This?" Papyrus froze. "This... ice pack? The ice bag...?"

"Yes...?"

"The bag of ice which contains ice, hence the name?"

" _Yes,_ " Sans said through clenched teeth. "Did something happen?"

"O-oh, no, no, nothing _happened,_ " Papyrus shrugged without confidence. "And to answer your question about my uniform, I thought I already told you about my job as a night guard for the local museum?"

"You did," Sans nodded once, his curiosity growing with his concern. "I just didn't know they made you wear a uniform is all. I mean, it's the night watch, who cares?"

" _I_ care," Papyrus held his free hand to his chest proudly. "And I have been doing an admiral job, my supervisor told me so."

"That's great, Papyrus!" Alphys beamed up at him, offering him a place to sit, which he sank into with evident exhaustion. "I'll be sure to tell Undyne that you're doing a fantastic job at everything you do, royal guard or no."

"Of course I excel at everything," he scoffed. "I am the Great Papyrus, it's in the name."

"Paps."

"Hmm?"

Papyrus was still holding the bag of ice directly to his head, and it was dripping water onto the table.

"... You gonna tell me what happened now?" Sans asked quietly, and Papyrus squirmed uncomfortably beside him.

"Nothing that a nice hot shower can't fix," Papyrus smiled, but Sans and Alphys could clearly see that it was pained.

"... Paps."

"Hmm?"

"Take off the ice pack."

Papyrus didn't move for a long, long few minutes, simply staring at a spot on the table. Eventually, at long last he sighed heavily, gradually, slowly pulling the ice pack away from his face, earning an inward hiss from both sides of the table.

Papyrus's face was splintered and cracked all down his right eye, spreading upward towards his cranium and crawling down in a lightning bolt fashion. Sans had to fight to keep his hands from shaking in pure, unadulterated rage, his chest heaving as he spoke.

"... Who _did_ this to you?" Sans asked quietly, holding Papyrus's head in his hand.

"There was... a break in," Papyrus responded dejectedly, letting his head hang when Sans let go. Alphys had her mouth covered in horror, her eyes wide behind her glasses.

"What happened?"

"It was my fault..." he shook his head slowly. "I was supposed to be on guard for the new monster's general history exhibit, and... I fell asleep."

"Paps," Sans held his hand, struggling not to scream. "You can't blame yourself-"

"But I _do,_ " Papyrus wailed. "If I hadn't fallen asleep the museum wouldn't have been robbed!"

"What about the police?" Alphys asked. "Can't they do anything?"

"Believe me, I tried working with the law enforcement," he stated dryly. "Apparently monster related crimes are 'out of their jurisdiction'."

"They said that?" Sans's voice stopped working for a moment.

"Well," Papyrus placed the ice pack back over his eye. "Not in those exact words, no. They used much more profanity and unpleasant slurs about non-humans. I... disagreed with what they were saying."

"Didn't they even bother to find out who did this to you?" Sans's hands were shaking fully, and he had to stick them in his pockets to keep his brother from seeing.

"This?" Papyrus blinked with his one good eye. "Oh, no. This is from the police."

It was dead silent, so quiet that one could have heard a pin drop.

Sans let out a low, quiet laugh, humorless and empty.

"Sans, no." Papyrus tried to cross his arms, but had forgotten that he was still using one arm to hold the ice bag.

"What?" Sans stood, his face feeling so hot he could have cooked an egg on it. "You don't worry 'bout a thing, brosheph," he grinned with that same empty, hollow look. "I'm just going to have a few words with the fellas down at the precinct. Just a little... _visit._ Be right back."

With a snap of his fingers he was gone, leaving the horrified Alphys alone with the skeleton.

"... I have nothing but bad feelings about everything he just said," Papyrus shivered.

Alphys slowly stood, wiping away tears behind her glasses with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Here," she motioned for Papyrus to lean in towards her, as he was still just as tall as her even when sitting. "I-I'm not v-very good at green magic, but I should be able to, um, mitigate some of the damage and heal you, at least a little. L-let me see?"

Papyrus shifted uneasily, clearly more upset about showing anyone his injury than anything, but he eventually pulled the ice pack away and let her see. The damage was worse than she initially thought. Papyrus's eye socket was swollen shut, and the splintering sprawled like spidery fingers over his eye. Alphys took in another sharp breath as she reached deep for the magic, feeling the growing warmth in her hands that let off a low green light.

"It's... sort of itchy," Papyrus mumbled as she placed her hands over his broken eye.

"S-sorry," Alphys tried to even out the output of magic, already feeling the immense drain of straining to heal Papyrus's wounds. The cracks in his head ever so slowly began to recede toward his eye, and Papyrus let out a sigh of relief as the pain began to eventually ebb away. Alphys continued for several long minutes, her head beginning to feel thick and heavy as she healed him to the best of her abilities, though many of the cracks still remained and although his eye socket remained shut it didn't look nearly as bad as before.

"... Thank you, doctor," Papyrus put a hand on her shoulder with a small smile.

"O-oh, it's nothing," Alphys blushed, brushing imaginary dust from her hands. "Anything for a friend."

"Admirable as always," he nodded with a grin, watching with one eye as the red in her cheeks grew a few shades deeper. Why did he have to suddenly remind her of Undyne?

She coughed awkwardly, tucking her hands behind her back.

"... Sans has been gone a while,"Alphys pointed out. Papyrus jolted up, startling her as he grabbed his bright red jacket.

"I suppose that means that I should go fetch him," Papyrus said with a sigh. "Here's to hoping that poor skeleton doesn't get on the wrong side of those officers.

He was gone in moments, almost as fast as Sans teleported out, leaving her sitting with a cup of cold coffee and a very aching head.

"I don't think it's Sans you need to worry about..." she sighed under her breath.

0-0-0-0-0


	18. The Conference

0-0-0-0-0

"Why do I have to drink this gross stuff again?" Asriel scrunched up his nose at the vial of purple liquid that Alphys held.

"The stabilization gel helps to prevent your artificial soul and body from breaking apart," she explained as Frisk packed a pair of small paper bags with snacks, busying herself while humming a little tune. "I know it's unpleasant, but you have to drink one every twenty-four hours, at least until your artificial soul has had time to acclimate and bond with the body."

"It's still gross," Asriel downed the vial and shuddered.

"Think of it as medicine," Alphys patted him on the head. "It will make you better."

Alphys paused when Frisk pulled at her sleeve.

"Yes?" she blinked. It always managed to surprise her that the girl had grown almost as tall as she was in the last year. "What is it, Frisk?"

"Do you know when Uncle Sans and Papy are coming back?" she asked, staring up at her. Alphys had a strange look in her eyes for a few moments and took a second to clean her glasses before answering.

"I'm positive that they'll be finished with their... _errands_ soon," she said without confidence.

"So does that mean we don't have to go to that dumb parent teacher conference thing?" Asriel asked hopefully. "Because I've been to those as a flower and I can guarantee that they are just as boring as watching paint dry."

"They aren't all that bad," Flowey passed him the paper bag filled with sliced apples and honey. "We get to talk and play with the other kids while we're there, and no schoolwork!"

"How is it that there's a parent teacher conference at the same time the queen was called away for a meeting...?" Alphys mused aloud. Frisk and Asriel shared a look and shrugged.

"Well," Alphys clapped her hands together, glancing out the window as a bright red sports car pulled up the drive. "Guess that's my cue to leave. It was nice seeing you guys."

"It was nice to see you again too, doctor Alphys," Frisk hugged her warmly with a smile.

"Remember to take the stabilization gel _regularly!_ " Alphys turned to Asriel, who was pulling at the sleeve of his sweater and looking uncomfortable for some reason.

"I got it, I got it," he stared out the window at the approaching skeletons in the rain. "I don't wanna wind up like your failed experim-"

His jaw slammed shut, but it was already too late. Alphys blushed deeply, her head hanging in shame.

"S-sorry," he rubbed his elbow awkwardly. "That came out wrong."

"No, no-" she shook her head. "Forget about it. Just, please, forget about it."

"That's all anyone can do," she jumped at the sound of Sans's voice directly behind her. "Just try to forget and move on."

"Uncle Sans!" Frisk cheered as she tackled him around the belly, nearly knocking him over. "You're back, you're back!"

"I'm back."

"... Where did you go?" Frisk looked up at Papyrus, who was adorned with a large square medical patch over his right eye, covered with multiple layers of tape. "What happened to Papy?' Is everything okay? Did something happen?"

"Don't worry, little one," Papyrus picked her up and swung her around as she giggled madly. "Everything is perfectly fine, the Great Papyrus can survive anything!"

"Dude," Asriel was staring at him in mild shock. "Are-are you sure you're alright?"

Sans opened his mouth to answer, but Papyrus beat him to it.

"Just a little accident is all," Papyrus answered swiftly, his discomfort showing. "But now I'm right as rain! Which we currently have plenty of."

Frisk giggled and Asriel hid a small smile behind his hand.

"Papyrus," Sans balked. "You-you just made a joke."

"The Great Papyrus never jokes, kids, joshes or riddles," Papyrus shook his head, holding up the car keys. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, we have a parent teacher conference to attend!"

"You sure you're up to it?" Sans asked as Alphys politely excused herself with something about finishing her work that Sans didn't quite catch, setting off into the rain. "You'll have to put up with Helen. I mean, you don't _have_ to go-"

"Does that mean I don't have to go?" Asriel pointed to himself. "I mean, I'm not _technically_ enrolled-"

"I will be fine, brother," Papyrus answered a little more softly, placing a hand on the shorter skeleton's shoulder. "Just trust me, everything is going to be alright. I promise."

Sans shook his head slowly but forced a little smile.

"If you say so, Paps. If you say so."

0-0-0-0-0

The drive to the school was uncharacteristically quiet.

Papyrus kept his one good eye on the road, occasionally swerving but not veering too far off course. Sans sat staring out past the busy windshield wipers, distracted by something. Neither Asriel or Frisk could bring themselves to break the awkward silence. They eventually arrived miraculously without incident, and the four walked in single file up the concrete sidewalk toward the public school that Toriel taught at. Sans felt a pang in his chest to know that she would be gone for the next two days, suddenly feeling very strapped for time, but he pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Alright, you kids go have fun," Sans gently pushed Frisk and the nervous Asriel toward the group of chattering children in one of the classrooms. "Me and Paps won't be too long."

"Pinkie promise?" Frisk held out a single pinkie, which he wrapped his bony pinkie around with a grin.

"Pinkie promise."

"Then I'll go introduce Asriel to everybody!" she dragged the blubbering Asriel away toward the group of curious human children. Sans chuckled and shook his head, slowly shuffling off toward the room where the parent teacher conferences were usually held, dragging his slippers as he did so. Papyrus took long strides to match his short ones, walking slowly to keep pace.

"... Sans," Papyrus's voice felt muffled despite being in an empty hallway.

"What's up, Paps?" he replied without looking up.

"You didn't have to scare the living daylights out of those policemen."

"They aren't going to pull something like that again, now are they?" Sans asked darkly, and Papyrus rubbed the patch over his eye.

"I-I'm sure they didn't mean anything they said," he said uncomfortably as they walked, his voice low.

"Doesn't matter whether or not they meant it. They said it anyway. They _hurt_ you, Papyrus."  
"I-I know, but..." he tapped his fingers together, frowning. "They can't help the way that they are, just like we can't help the way that we are."

"What do you mean?" Sans glanced up at him to see an odd expression on his face.

"Most humans are very simple, Sans," Papyrus sighed. "They... they attack what they don't understand. They aren't _intentionally_ cruel, I'm sure of it. They're just insecure and frightened by things larger than they can contemplate, and sometimes physically lash out in meager attempt to minimize their fear."

Sans stared up at Papyrus, his jaw hanging open.

"... Paps, that's... wow," he ran a hand over his head. "You got kinda deep there."

"Sorry," Papyrus chuckled, straightening his back and grinning. "You're starting to be a bad influence on me. Can't go getting philosophical when we've got a meeting to go to, nyeh?"

"You're a good person, Paps," Sans patted him on the shoulder with a small smile. "Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

"... Thank you, Sans," Papyrus wiped something from his good eye, beaming. "That-that really means a lot to me."

"Alright, whaddya say we get a move on before we get too mushy?" Sans asked, propping open the door for his brother.

"Oh, _fantastic,_ " Sans heard Helen's voice before he saw the redheaded woman. "And now the skeleton is here, this just couldn't get any better."

"Why, Helen, if I didn't know any better I'd say you _missed_ me," Sans held a hand to his chest.

"Greetings, humans!" Papyrus bellowed cheerfully to the small group of five women all cluttered around a circular table with, much to Sans's surprise, the king of monsters himself seated directly beside Helen. "It is I, the great Papyrus!"

"Your majesty?" Sans asked dully, his brain not in the mood to process what he was seeing.

"Oh! Good morning, Sans," the deep baritone voice of the king rang throughout the room, drawing all eyes to him. "It it good to see you again, my friend. We have not spoken in too long."

"Ditto," Sans nodded once, taking a spare seat beside his brother at the table between an auburn haired woman with her hair in a bun and the same blonde woman that had left the room laughing at the last conference that he had attended. "What brings you here?"

"Helen and I are dating."

Sans did not seem to have a reasonable answer to that statement. Nobody did. Or at least, none that were polite.

"So... at least you're finally starting to get over your irrational fear of monsters," Sans clapped his hands together. Helen's face turned the color of beets, and it was dead quiet. Nobody seemed ready to pick up where they left off.

"I even miss anything fun?" Sans asked, folding his hands neatly before him as Helen shot him a look of pure death.

"You can _not_ wear that to our parent teacher meetings," Helen jabbed a finger angrily at Sans, and he checked his shirt.

"What's wrong with my shirt?" Sans blinked.

"It isn't appropriate for school functions, or _anything_ for that matter!" she scowled. He glanced downward at his shirt with the imprint of a bone on it with bold lettering underneath reading _check out my boner_.

"Sorry, Helen," Sans zipped up his jacket without a hint of remorse. "Didn't know my boner was making you so uncomfortable. I have that effect on people."

And so, the jokes commenced.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

I've been super sick lately, sorry it took so long for the chapter. Next one should be up soon!


	19. Three Days To Live

0-0-0-0-0

Sans rubbed his eyes wearily with the sleeve of his white laboratory coat. It was going to be a long night. He silently ran a finger bone down the long list of algorithms, mentally checking them off one at a time. He slid his hand over his bald head and let out a long, uneven breath that sounded a dozen times louder in the silence of the basement.

 _Three days left until the end of the world._

Sans let his gaze wander over to check up on Alphys's progress, and he was quietly impressed with her work. Before her stood a short, stubby machine shaped like a huge metal doughnut, letting off sparks as she welded on another piece. She worriedly removed her safety gear every thirty seconds to check, double check and triple check to ensure that she was performing well, constantly going over Gaster's notes that she had personally transcribed from the blueprints that Sans had given her. Sans stared back up at his own contraption, sullenly blinking up at the bullet casing shaped device. The phase distortion generator could be exactly what they needed to ensure that another timeline spike never occurred again.

Then again, that could also be the worst possible scenario.

Sans brushed the thoughts from his head, forcing himself to resume work despite his aching body and weary mind. He could feel the exhaustion weighing on his shoulders like an anchor, and every passing moment was another that he fought off sleep. It was hard to believe the sheer amount of progress that the two had made in the past few days, but it would appear that Sans and Alphys shared common traits when it came to important work. Undyne had tried again and again to pull the dinosaur away from her work even for a little while but to no avail, as Alphys worked just as single mindedly and tirelessly as Sans did. The skeleton was in the laboratory at almost all times, constructing his oddly vertical bullet case shaped device imprinted with a number of magical sealing runes and odd wards written in hands. She mused quietly that the ex royal scientists's skill in manipulating blue magic and science was just as impressive as they day they had met. It went on like this for hours, Undyne sitting or leaning uncomfortably against one of the unused gurneys, watching the two work .

"You dorks finally gonna take a break?" Undyne handed a small clipboard to Alphys that she motioned for, and she slowly shook her head.

"Can't stop," she answered breathlessly, hooking a huge pipeline up to the machine. "We need to have the generator operational before the next spike!"

"I don't get what's so important about this 'spike' thing," Undyne rolled her hand through the air as Sans levitated a wrench past her in a grip of blue magic.

"In layman's terms?" Sans said quietly. "If we fail, it could spell the end of the entire world as we know it."

Undyne paled considerably.

"That's... bad."

"Agreed," he nodded. "But you can rest assured, we're working ourselves... _down to the bone._ Eh? _Eh_?"

Neither Undyne nor Alphys laughed.

"Yeesh, tough crowd," Sans loosened his collar. "Listen, Undyne, we're working as fast as we can here."

"At least _some_ of us are," Alphys heaved a large scrap of metal onto the generator and began welding it on.

"Right, right, sorry," Sans stuck his hands back into the pockets of his lab coat, grinning. "You know how I am about –"

"- slacking off _again,_ Sans!"

Sans bolted upright in his swivel chair at the sound of Gaster's voice. The joke book that he had meticulously hidden behind the quantum physics book was beginning to slip into his lap when he had fallen asleep, and he futilely struggled to hide it from Gaster's scrutinizing gaze.

"What's up, doc?" Sans struggled to maintain composure as he slammed the books shut.

"We've had another invasion," Gaster grabbed him by the hand and was pulling him down the long narrow hallways before he knew it.

"A human?" Sans blinked, straining to keep up with the skeleton's long strides. "So soon after the last one?"

"This is magnificent," Gaster clapped his holed hands together before readjusting his spectacles. "I need your help in testing the new Gaster Blasters."

"You named it after yourself?" Sans asked skeptically before freezing.

"... Sans?" Gaster paused and turned on the spot, staring down at the smaller skeleton.

"Doc," he breathed, trying to keep his hands from shaking. "You-you can't seriously mean you're going to test that thing on a _human_ -"

"What _else_ would we test it on?" Gaster rolled his eyes. "We need to move quickly, the security cameras already picked it up moving toward Snowdin, I need you to-"

"No, no way!" Sans shook his head fiercely, jamming his hands in the pockets of his lab coat to keep them from shaking. "You literally cannot be serious!"

"Sans, you're being unreasonable..." he frowned, turning his weary gaze away for a moment. "We cannot allow the king to force himself through another... _incident_ with a human child."

"It's a _kid_?" Sans breathed, holding a hand to his head. "You said it would only be one! You want to murder another freakin' _kid?!_ "

"Sans, calm down!"

Sans took a deep breath, his head feeling light.

"I – _we_ – need you to be strong enough to handle the situation," Gaster rubbed a circle around his holed hand. "I cannot do this by myself anymore."

"That's why you made me," Sans said quietly, staring up at him. "To do... _this_ for you."

"That is not why you were created, Sans," Gaster replied softly, looking away. "You were never designed with combat purposes in mind."

"So in the end, it doesn't really matter what I am..." he crossed his arms. "I'm still the beta. The fragile accident. The failure."

"So _make_ yourself into something different!" Gaster snapped. Sans blinked, unsure of how to respond. "You are your _own_ monster, Sans. You are not me. You are not your 'brother'. You are not what you were meant to be, so it's up to you to make your own meaning out of your life."

Sans was quiet for a long time. Gaster stuffed his hands in his lab coat pockets, and there was a weariness hanging on him that Sans had never seen.

"This... this simply isn't ethical," Sans said after a long time.

"It's not about what's ethical, it's about what's efficient."

"I _can't_ keep doing this; you can't keep making me do this!" his voice rose and he felt a tightness in his chest. He pulled deep for the magic, feeling the tingle in his bones as he summoned Gaster's pet project.

"Sans-"

" _No!_ I mean it this time, I-I can't do this anymore, consequences be damned!"

"Sans! Just put it down, we can still talk about this!"

"No!" he screamed, feeling the bone rattling hum of the blaster floating behind him. "No more dead kids!"

"SANS!"

0-0-0-0-0

"Sans!" Undyne shook him awake forcefully. "Sans, snap out of it!"

Sans blinked awake, the dream already fading away. It had felt so vivid, like he was reliving it all over again...

"What?" he looked between the shocked ex royal guard and Alphys, the color drained from her face. "What happened?"

"You fell asleep standing up," Alphys stuttered. "A-and you started shouting ab- t-things."

He rubbed his temple with one hand, feeling hot and clammy simultaneously.

"... I know we're running short on time, but... I need sleep," he murmured quietly, but they both seemed to pick up on it. "All do. Need to sleep. See you in the morning, guys."

"Sans, it is morning-" Alphys began, but he was already gone.

0-0-0-0-0


	20. The Talk

0-0-0-0-0

Sans stumbled in through the doorway, the sensation of teleporting fleeing his body as he shuffled inside. The early morning light seemed glaringly bright as he closed the door behind him and collapsed onto the sofa without bothering to remove his lab coat, face first into the cushions. Sans momentarily entertained the idea of forcing himself up the stairs and crawling into bed with Toriel again, but he couldn't bring himself to accidentally wake her in the process. He half expected Flowey to start griping at him again about coming in late, and he hadn't even gone to Grillby's first this time.

 _Oh, wait. He's not a flower anymore._

Sans's head still felt numb from that prospect. They had brought a dead child back to life. They had done the impossible, and they were about to do the impossible again.

 _Don't want to think about it anymore. Just wanna sleep. Don't think about the spike. Don't think about the resets. Just wanna sleep. Just wanna sleep._

Gaster had the knowledge needed to prevent the timeline spikes from occurring again. The one monster who could possibly save them all. And yet, when they needed him most, Gaster disappeared. Fallen into his own creation and scattered across time and space.

 _Don't wanna think about it. Don't make me think about it._

Sans forcibly tried to clear his mind, and was failing miserably. There were simply too many thoughts clouding his head all at once, from the potential prevention of the end of the world to the slight rumbling in his stomach, it all seemed to weigh on him like an anchor. He finally groaned and sat up, groggily rubbing his eyes. The shadows had shifted considerably, though he hadn't particularly noticed the passage of time at all. It was still too early for anyone to be up, but Sans forced himself to stand anyway, his mind feeling heavy.

He pulled his slippers on and tried to readjust his lab coat as he heard quiet footsteps coming down the stairs. Sans blinked and stared at Frisk, who was already dressed in jeans and her bright blue sweater.

"You're up awfully early," Sans started conversationally. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm making breakfast for everybody," Frisk's soft voice floated through the room, but sounding much louder than anticipated. "Since Papyrus isn't home yet."

"You're learning responsibility," Sans nodded once. "I can respect that. Personally, I prefer laziness. It's _way_ easier than actually doing things."

Frisk didn't seem to have a response, and he stopped her before she entered the kitchen.

"Hey. Kid. Have a sit," he patted the seat next to him. He felt a sudden urge to rub the bags he felt under his eye sockets, but resisted and watched her crawl onto the couch beside him.

"Yeah?" she blinked. "What's up, Uncle Sans?"

"Just got a question for ya," he said quietly while staring straight ahead, hands in his pockets.

"... Okay," Frisk nodded curiously. "What is it?"

Sans didn't respond for what felt like forever. He stared straight ahead, and he looked so tired, so exhausted that Frisk momentarily wondered if he had fallen asleep sitting up.

"... Your 'thing'," he said quietly at last. "What we talked about before. Y'know. The 'save points', the determination. The resets."

"... Yeah...?" Frisk blinked again, unsure of herself.

"So," he shrugged, the weariness seeming to vanish from him for a brief time. "When exactly do you plan to reset?"

"What-what do you mean?"

"I-I just wanna know," Sans choked, unable to quite look right at her. "I gotta know, kid. I gotta know when I'm gonna wake up in Snowdin and this is all gonna be one big dream. I _need_ to know when everything is gonna reset again."

Sans paused as he felt Frisk's hands on his shoulders, and he looked across to her. She hugged him tightly, pulling him close and burying her head against him.

"No," he felt her shake her head slightly. "No more resets. Never. Not ever again. I promised. I _promise_."

Sans felt like a golf ball were stuck in his throat and his eyes burned as he squeezed her back, straining to keep his voice even.

 _I wanna believe it, kid. God help me, I do._

"... Okay, kiddo. Okay."

0-0-0-0-0

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, Sans."

"I can be there in half a minute Al-"

"I mean it, Sans," Alphys sounded tired over the phone. More tired than he had ever heard her. "I can finish up the generator by myself, it's almost done anyway."

Sans ran a hand over his head, letting out a long breath through his teeth as he held the cellphone out for a moment before answering.

"You're one hundred percent on this?" Sans asked yet again.

"One hundred and one," she wearily replied. "Just... spend what time you have left with your loved ones."

"That does _not_ imply good things, Alphys!" Sans felt his heart jump into his throat, but she was already gone. "Alphys! _Al_ -"

He heard nothing.

"Did-did she just hang up on me?" he stared at his phone in disbelief.  
"I believe she just hung up on you," Toriel stated matter of factly from across the kitchen table.

"I think she just hung up on me," Sans clapped a hand to his forehead.

"Okay, we _get_ it," Papyrus rolled his one good eye, folding down the newspaper that he had been reading as Frisk cheerfully placed a plate of sizzling pancakes before him. "Thank you, little human!"

"I shaped it like your head!" she beamed up at him.

Papyrus stared down at the pancake for a long few silent moments.

"... My depth perception may be a little off," he rubbed his black eye patch uncomfortably, "But I'm not entirely certain that this artistic expression of the Great Papyrus looks much like... well, the Great Papyrus."

"Oh," Frisk sank a little, giving his plate a poke with the fork. "Well, it looked a lot more like you before it was cooked."

He simply patted her on the head with a small smile.

"It's no pasta, but... that'll do, human. That'll do."

"It does _sort_ of resemble you upside down..." Toriel _hmm_ 'd from beside him, tilting her head a little.

"Maybe it's like one of those puzzles you have to look at with one eye- oh," Sans deflated mid sentence, earning a positively boiling glare from Papyrus.

"I think we have more important things to deal with than more things that should be shaped like the Great Papyrus," Papyrus stated. "Like, for example, what was it? Oh, right, the _literal end of the world!_ "

"Eesh," Sans cringed. "You don't have to say it with such, y'know. _Oooh_ in it," he mimed dramatically with his fingers.

"Actually I think Papyrus has a point," Frisk said worriedly as she clambered into the seat beside him, pouring syrup all over her pancakes. "The whole 'end of the world' thing kinda has me even more worried than the oral presentation at school Monday."

"I can imagine few things worse than an oral presentation," Toriel said dryly, taking a large bite.

"An anal presentation?" Sans suggested.

Toriel suddenly choked on her pancakes.

The sound of Asriel stumbling noisily down the stairs helped to distract from the incredibly awkward moment of silence where everyone stared down the short skeleton, and the younger goat yawned as he entered the kitchen.

"Howdy everybody," he stifled a yawn, pulling at the shirt of his pajamas as he dropped into a seat. "Mornin'. What did I miss?"

Nobody seemed to have a proper response, considering the morning's rushed explanation of what was going on.

"... Seriously, what happened?" Asriel blinked, helping himself to pancakes along with his daily dosage of refrigerated purple liquid that Alphys had stocked them with. "Yeesh, you guys look depressing. It's not like it's the end of the world or something."

No aside from Asriel moved.

He had a few syrupy bites to help down the stabilization gel before slowly placing the fork down on the table, looking around the room at everyone else, who for some reason all seemed to have difficulty looking at him.

"... _What_?" he repeated.

"Well..." Toriel coughed uncomfortably into one hand, forcing herself to meet her reborn son's eyes.

"You guys are acting weirder than Undyne did about Papyrus's eye patch," he shrugged. "Tell 'em, Frisk."

Frisk kicked her legs back and forth, looking away.

"... Frisk?"

"We've... kinda got a problem," Sans steepled his fingers together, leaning against the table on his elbows.

"What-what _kind_ of problem?" he asked cautiously.

"So," Papyrus shifted across from him. "You know that whole 'end of the world' thing-"

"Oh my god guys it was a _joke,_ " Asriel breathed. "You-you can't possibly be serious."

"One hundred and one percent," Sans answered quietly. The entire room went silent.

Asriel slowly looked back and forth between them all before gulping loudly.

"... It's not my fault this time, right?"

"What do you mean 'this time'?" Toriel blinked.

"Alphys picked up a signature..." Sans explained uncomfortably, pulling out a pair of spectacles from his pocket and examining them closely. "A... _lapse_ in the timeline. A spike."

"O...kay...?" Asriel stared back at him, suddenly feeling much less hungry than he was before. "And... what exactly does that mean?"

"It means," Sans drew in a deep breath, "That things might be getting worse than Jerry on karaoke night."

"... Who's Jerry?" Frisk asked.

"Don't ask," Sans and Papyrus answered simultaneously. The skeleton brothers shared a glance before letting out a couple of uneasy chuckles. On the one upside, for once they were a perfectly matching pair.

"... No, but, seriously," Asriel awkwardly folded his hands in his lap, watching as Sans tucked the glasses back into a pocket on his lab coat. "What exactly does that mean?"

"It means that we might never have this conversation," Sans said bluntly. "The entire world could be rewritten. Restarted."

"Oh," Asriel nodded once, before all the color drained from his face. He stared down at his plate of partially eaten pancakes, suddenly feeling sick. " _Oh._ "

"Yeah," Sans agreed, taking a slow sip of his coffee. " _Oh._ "

"How-how long do we have?" he asked weakly.  
"Ah," Sans checked an invisible watch on his wrist. "About... two days."

"Well that at least leaves time to _oh my god are you kidding me?!_ "

"Calm down, my child," Toriel placed a hand on his shoulder, though it seemed to have little to no effect. "He said _could_ not _would._ "

"Probably," Sans shrugged. "Most likely. High probability."

"This is bad," Asriel ran a hand over his scalp in a panic. "This is bad...!"

"No, no," Papyrus stopped the worried Toriel from grabbing his shoulders. "Let him get it out of his system first, he'll feel better."

"Feel better?" Asriel choked. "There might be a _reset_ coming, and you think I'll feel _better?!_ Is there something wrong with your head?"

"Probably," Papyrus motioned toward his eye patch.

Asriel let out a shaky laugh, sinking into his seat.

"... This-this is hilarious," Asriel cupped his head in his hands. "Just _perfect._ "

"To be fair, about everyone but Papyrus had pretty much the same reaction," Frisk nodded sagely, already having finished her pancakes.

"Why everyone but Papyrus?" he gave a watery blink.

"Because the Great Papyrus is dead freakin' tired," Papyrus said utterly without emotion. "I just got off from work. Believe me, it'll kick in. Just give it time."

"So," Sans clapped his hands together. "Everybody done with their freak-outs?"  
"Not quite," Asriel felt the purple liquid rebelling against his body.

"I think so," Frisk shrugged.

"Most of us are." Toriel frowned.

"Close enough," he stood. "Everybody hop in the car. We're taking a little scenic trip to the park. Time to cram in as much sappy family activity as possible in a twenty-four hour period of time."

"Am I the _only_ one not okay with this?" Asriel shouted as he was left behind by everyone else.

"No," Sans stuck his head back in through the doorway. "But you're the only one getting left out if you don't get out of your pj's and get in the car."

Asriel followed suit, though nobody but Frisk bothered to question why he had taken her clothes instead of his own.

On the upside, for once they were a perfectly matching pair.

0-0-0-0-0


	21. The Second Child

0-0-0-0-0

It was a bright and sunny morning, a warm breeze rolling in over the horizon, promising of oncoming rain soon to be. Sans sat on the park bench between a gently snoring Papyrus, still decked out in his brown night guard's uniform with his head fully tilted backwards with Toriel on his opposite side, hands folded neatly in her lap. Her white and violet dress drifted slightly in the wind, dancing with the park's shining tree leaves.

Sans wanted to bring himself to speak as the two watched the children playing across the varied assortment of playground equipment, but couldn't quite manage to do so. Every time he tried to bring the words together they seemed to fail before leaving his mouth, leaving him sitting with a tightly clenched jaw the entire time.

"... They look happy," Toriel said simply after a long time of silence.

"Yeah," Sans answered quietly.

"It reminds me of when I was young..." she said with a small smile, and when she glanced down she saw a tiny grin on the skeleton's face as well.

"I can't imagine you any younger than you already look," though she snorted at that.

"Always the flatterer, hmm?"

"Shorter, maybe," he chuckled. "Maybe we could have been the same height, once upon a timeline."

"Size isn't everything, you know," she answered with a cocked eyebrow, earning a slight growth of his grin.

They fell silent again shortly afterwards, listening to the children laugh as they played, chasing each other back and forth across the playground.

"What were you like?"

"Whuzzat?" Sans blinked, shaking off the urge to rub his tired eyes.

"When you were young," she spared a glance back down to him, but to her surprise, he was staring down at his slippers with a hollow expression. "... What were you like?"

"I..." his voice seemed to catch in his throat, but he was back to staring out at the children the next moment. "We never really were very interesting kids. No story to tell there."

"I _highly_ doubt that," Toriel forced a small smile, but her heart wasn't in it. The sight of Sans looking so completely, thoroughly _exhausted_ unsettled her. "... Sans? Is... is something wrong?"

"Hmm?" he gazed up at her, distractedly playing with the pair of spectacles that he was prone to carrying everywhere with him, regardless of the fact that she had never actually seen him wearing them. "No, no. Nothing's-nothing is wrong. Just thinking. What about you, Tori? I don't hear you talking about your past much, either."

Toriel frowned, crossing her arms.

"I wish that I could say I have a lot of pleasant memories that haven't been tainted by age," she said slowly.

"Hoo, boy," Sans let out a weak laugh. "Trust me, I know the feeling. I think most people just call it 'getting old' though."

"Oh, I've been old for _ages_ then!" she snorted again, and he chortled with her.

"... I-" she started but tapered off just as she began to speak, staring down at her hands.

"What?" Sans stared.

"I... lost quite a lot," Toriel spoke softly, but he could hear the weight in her voice. "I forsook my people and my throne. I lost my own husband to his own cowardice and cruelty. I lost both of my children, and-"

Her voice seemed to fail her, and she blinked water from her eyes to see Sans's hand softly gripping hers.

"And yet," she coughed awkwardly, not having to have let that much slip. "And yet, despite everything, none of it really seems at all as dreadful as it used to. My people are free. I live with a wonderful family. And I have my children ba- I have children again," she corrected herself.

Sans squeezed her hand lightly, thinking.

"... Asriel wasn't an only child?" he asked after a moment.

"He was," she answered without looking at him. "Chara was... _adopted,_ in a sense."

She suddenly felt Sans freeze beside her. She tore her eyes away from the playing children to look at him, and found him sitting absolutely stock still, and just for a moment, she could have sworn that his eye sockets had gone completely empty.

"... Sans?"

"Yeah," he shifted at last. "Sorry," he grinned, looking back at her, the bags vanishing from beneath his eyes for just a short time. "Goose must have stepped over my grave or somethin'. The name sounds... familiar though. I don't think you've ever mentioned Chara before."

"She was..." Toriel began uncomfortably, looking away. "She was a... _dark_ child."

"How dark are we talkin'?" Sans let go of her hand to rub the back of his head. "Because, y'know, human children come in different shades, it's not that big of a deal."

"That's not what I meant, Sans."

She gazed downward at the ground, avoiding his gaze for what felt like the longest time.

"... If it's all the same to you," she sighed eventually, sitting up straight. "I'd rather not dredge up old memories. Especially not with everything we have to worry about right now."

"That's kinda what I'm trying to distract everyone from," Sans admitted sheepishly.

"OH MY GOD!"

Sans nearly leapt out of his seat, jarred by Papyrus's sudden scream.

"SANS!" Papyrus shook him by the shoulders roughly, his one good eye rolling wildly. "It's almost the end of the world! How long was I asleep?"

"Chill, Paps-"  
" _How long?!_ " he shook him again, earning a quiet snicker from Toriel. "... What?" Papyrus blinked. "What's so funny?"

"You might want to stop shaking poor Sans like a rag doll," Toriel coughed conspicuously. "You're positively _rattling_ him."

Papyrus opened his mouth before closing it.

"... Was that a skeleton pun?" he stared at her dubiously. "I'm... not entirely certain."

"Relax, broseph," Sans waved him off flippantly. "You're acting like a poorly populated camping ground."

"Huh?"  
"Because you're..." Sans grinned. "... _Two tents."_

Papyrus groaned loudly, sinking into the wooden bench.

"Oh my god Sans," he said over Toriel's giggling. "That was even worse than the last one. When will the awful puns end?"

"In about two days, probably," Sans said before clamping his mouth shut, mentally kicking himself.

Toriel was about to say something that Sans didn't quite pick up when they were interrupted by the sound of Asriel's shouting as he approached, practically dragging a limping Frisk behind him.

"Help! I need help!"

"Asriel, c'mon, I said it's fine-"

"Frisk is leaking oh god _what do we do?_ "

"Calm down, my child," Toriel knelt down to the ground to see that Frisk had gotten a rather large scrape on her knee. "It's only a scratch."

"That's what I told him," Frisk rolled her eyes, but it was clear from her expression that she was in pain. "It's-it's fine, I just need a bandage or something. It'll heal."

"Oh!" Asriel snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up. "Healing – right, right! I have an idea!"

Asriel placed his palms out over Frisk's injury, eyes screwed up in concentration.

Nothing happened.

After a moment of awkward silence he slowly drew his hands away, dull surprise at seeing the wound completely untouched.

"Perhaps these matters are best left to mothers," Toriel suggested, summoning a small portion of green healing magic at her fingertips and tending to Frisk's injury.

"She's quite good at it," Papyrus chipped in.

"R-right," Asriel nodded and backed away, trying to hide the fact that he was evidently shaken. Sans watched him quietly. "Of-of course."

He said nothing afterward but stood with his arms crossed, struggling to hide his expression of concern that Sans tried to convince himself was only for that of his friend.

Sans never was much good at convincing himself.

0-0-0-0-0

It had been a long day.

After their jaunt to the park Papyrus had insisted on taking them all somewhere considerably less accident prone.

Which, to Papyrus, happened to be the city zoo.

It had taken a while, with Papyrus's panic inducing driving due to his eye patch, but they had arrived and spent several hours wandering around and chatting amongst themselves, eating ice cream. The only one that didn't seem to really join in was Asriel. He had been uncharacteristically quiet ever since leaving the park, and Sans didn't push his luck to try getting him to talk until long after they had gone home and the sun had set, the chirruping of crickets just outside the living room window keeping the pair company on the sofa.

Sans sat with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, not having bothered to remove it as the weary group dragged themselves inside for the day. Asriel sat upside down on the couch with his ears flopped down toward the floor, his upside down frown apparent in the dim light of the television game show with humans spinning a colored wheel for indeterminate amounts of money.

"... Stop thinking about it," Sans said without looking at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Asriel answered too quickly, and the emotion left his face completely.

"Try number two," Sans held up two bony fingers. "Maybe this time I'll actually believe you."

"I'm not _thinking_ about it," Asriel scowled. "And I wasn't thinking about it until you brought it up."

"Okay..." Sans's eyes never left the flickering screen, but he kept a close watch on him from the corner of his eyesocket. "So, tell me what it is that you're not thinking about."

"What happened at the park today-"

"Oh, _that,_ " Sans chuckled. "I thought you meant the whole 'end of the world' thing."

"Great!" Asriel rolled his eyes, folding his hands across his stomach. "Definitely wanted _that_ on my mind, too."

"Just tell me what's eatin' ya, kid," Sans let out a quiet breath.

Asriel chewed his tongue for a moment, thinking.

"... No pun? No... silly remarks?"

When he glanced back up at Sans, he could have sworn that, if only for a brief second, the light had completely gone out of his eyes. The next moment however he was grinning back down at him as he righted himself.

"Really?" and Asriel groaned in preparation. "Does it look like I've _goat_ time to _kid_ around?"

"You're terrible," Asriel rubbed his eyes, basked in the glow of the television set. "I mean, just the _worst._ These puns of yours have _goat_ out of hand."

Asriel clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide.

"Too late!" Sans cheered, arms high over his head and his grin wider than ever. "I knew it, jokes are in your blood!"

"Great," Asriel pinched the bridge of his nose, but he had a small smile. "Good to know where I get it from."

"Your mom, probably," Sans shrugged. Asriel crossed his arms again and grunted something unintelligible in reply. "But anyway... back to the topic at hand."

Asriel's smile slowly faded, and he drew up his legs and pulled his sweater over them until he was almost hiding inside his shirt, his gaze set dead ahead.

"... I can't use magic," Asriel said after a few moments. "I've-I've been trying all day. I can't use magic anymore."

"Can't say I'm too surprised."  
"Why not?" Asriel frowned.

"Well," Sans held up a single finger. "For one, monster's magic is closely tied to their mental and emotional well being. So long as you've still got baggage, you're going to have some difficulty using different types of magic. I'm sure you've already guessed number two."

"I... I don't exactly have a real soul, do I?" Asriel asked quietly.

"Just because it's artificial doesn't mean you aren't _real,_ " Sans chuckled. "But the drawback being that a portion of your makeup is a small portion of my own body. You'll need time to acclimate properly until the soul has fully integrated with your body and mind before you can access magic."

"That's... slightly relieving," Asriel sighed, rubbing his eyes again.

"And three..." Sans added, a dark tone to his voice, holding up a third finger.

"Three?"

"... Nothing," Sans waved him away with a faux cheerful expression. "Just wanted to make your heart stop for a second."

"You really are the _worst!_ " Asriel snorted and pushed him. Sans laughed with him, for a moment. It was then that he realized that the odd noise he was hearing from beneath him was Alphys's ringtone. He flipped his phone open and held it to the side of his head, curious.

"Al?"

"Sans," much to his surprise, he heard Undyne's voice instead of Alphys. "Something happened with the-the _thing_!"

"What's wrong?" Sans sat up, pressing the phone in harder to hear what sounded like ocean waves mixed with static from a television. "Undyne?"

"We need you over here," she replied breathlessly. "Like, now. I think the spike just came early."

"... Oh, _shit._ "

0-0-0-0-0

A/N Thanks for reading! More chapters are on the way. If you liked it (or didn't whatever I'm not your boss) please leave a comment letting me know! :D


	22. Null And Void

0-0-0-0-0

Sans landed with an _oomf_ on Alphys's front lawn out of the nothingness from his teleport, flat on his stomach. The wind was knocked from him like he'd just taken a punch to the gut, and he had to take a minute just to breathe. He could feel a light drizzle bouncing off his head and jacket, and he pushed himself up with one hand clutched to his aching chest as he stood.

 _It's getting worse..._

A humongous crackle of energy rippled, so enormous that he could feel it in his bones. The odd assortment of lightning rods atop Alphys's house buzzed and rattled with some unseen force, but Sans could hear the familiar hum of rising energy, felt it right down to his core.

"Al," he wheezed, banging on the locked front door. "Al! Alphys!" Sans struggled to kick in the front door, once, twice, three times before eventually giving up altogether and backing away.

Then the door was blasted right off its hinges by the floating device behind Sans, which he was quick to disperse with a snap of his fingers.

"Come on, Alphys," he pleaded with no one as he raced through Undyne's and Alphys's home, the rattling and shaking of the house already having knocked off several of the pictures from the wall. He stepped right on one and heard a crunch, sending spiderweb cracks right down the middle of the picture of the pair at the beach. "Come on, come _on,_ please god...!"

The basement door was flung open as he sprinted full speed down the stairs, nearly losing his footing several times in his slippers. An eerie periwinkle glow was casting long shadows over the laboratory, dancing wildly back and forth. The hum that he heard grew louder and louder as he approached, and Alphys stood with her back to him desperately making adjustments to the generator.

"Alphys!" he screamed over the roar of the engine. Undyne tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned around he saw that her nose was bleeding profusely and her glasses were cracked.

"Sans!" Alphys bellowed over the sound of the generator, pointing up to the screen which displayed a large variation of scrolling numbers. "The spike-!"

"I know, I know!" he shouted as he skidded to a stop next to her. "We've got to shut it down!"

"That's what I've been _trying_ to do!" Alphys yelled back. Undyne was nearly pulling her hair out in distress looking back and forth between them. "The particle accelerator powered the phase distortion generator; it just kicked on! I d-don't know what happened, I-I can't shut it _off!_ "

The roaring of the machine was slowly growing louder and louder, and Sans had to resist the urge to clap his hands to the side of his head to make it stop. The dancing lights from within phase distorter flickered from black to blue again and again, almost in a cycle.

"Alphys," Sans put his hands on her shoulders, throwing one last glance back to the device. "I just want you to know... it's been one hell of a ride."

"Thanks, Sans," she ran a hand over her head sheepishly before looking to Undyne. "Undyne, I-I never really got to tell you-"

"Something's happening," Undyne grabbed her and pulled her close, making her blush. "Tell me after we're dead!"

The buzz of crackling energy would have made his hair stand up on end, if he had hair. It grew louder and louder, like standing beneath a rock slide, so loud that he could feel the pounding between his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut and snagged both Alphys's and Undyne's hands, half a step away from attempting a last ditch teleport.

And then, just like that, it was over.

There was no grand explosion. No rushing sensation or exhaustion of teleporting. It was just... quiet. Sans blinked, looking about and saw only darkness. He could still feel Alphys and Undyne's hands in his, and he briefly wondered if they had simply been wiped out of existence.

Then the lights flickered back on, and they saw that they were still in the basement. Alphys let out a soft, shaky breath, her eyes wide.

Sans laughed once, then again from shock and surprise and relief all at once, running a hand over his head.

"... We're alive?" Undyne coughed awkwardly, pulling at her ponytail.

"No resets," Sans breathed, his hands rattling as he stuck them into the pockets of his jacket. "The spike-"

"But-but...!" Alphys watched the screen as the rolling numbers went by. "I-I don't understand. The phase distorter... everything lined up, it-it was so obvious. I mean I-I thought so... If-if _we_ didn't cause the spike with the phase distorter, then... what did?"

"That would be... me," said Sans as he stepped out of the phase distorter, closely followed by none other than Frisk. It was dead silent in the laboratory as they all stared at the identical skeleton, who stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned wearily against the metal device."Nice to see you again, by the way."

Alphys fainted on the spot.

0-0-0-0-0

"Ho~ly _shit,_ " Undyne breathed through her teeth, staring down at the identical twin.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," the other Sans said as he took a wide sweeping look about the room, grinning slightly as he helped the child behind him down from the phase distortion generator. She stepped nimbly down from the standing metal bullet, arms crossed tightly across her chest. She wore what appeared to be a tattered green sweater nearly identical to ones that Sans had seen her wear hundreds of times and ripped jeans, though for a split second he could have sworn that she was a little bit shorter. Her hair hung limply over her face concealing her eyes, and she showed no expression whatsoever about the current events.

The other Sans, on the other hand, was the polar opposite.

"Nice place, Al," he whistled as he gazed about, and Sans noted that his doppelganger appeared to be rather worse for the wear. His jacket was cut and torn in multiple places and there were what he hoped were ketchup stains on his coat, and one of his slippers appeared to have been set on fire at some point or another.

"Al. Alphys," Undyne held a vial of smelling salts beneath her friend's nose, and she shot up with a raspy cough. "You a'ight?"

"What happened?" Alphys hacked and sneezed, pushing the vial away.

"You fainted," the other Sans said with a small grin. "It's cool. I have that effect on the ladies."

"There's _two_ of you..." Undyne looked back and forth between the identical skeletons. "How... how is this even possible?"

"The phase distortion generator," the Sans closest to her explained quietly, not taking his eyes off of his copy and the girl behind him, who was still silent. "The device must have brought them here."

"Pretty swanky digs ya got here, Al," the alternate Sans leaned against one of the gurneys, his eyes locked onto the scientist. "Must have done some redecorating since we've been gone."

"O-oh, y-you know," Alphys shifted awkwardly, uncertain of how to address him. "J-just a little homely touch here and there. I had a lot of help, it's r-really no big deal."

"What do you mean, since you've been gone?" the original Sans asked, the shock of the situation wearing off and his curiosity growing. "How are you even _here?_ "

The other Sans merely shrugged, sticking his hands back into his pockets.

"Beats me, me," he cocked a skeletal eyebrow. "I figured our story was over."

"What are you talking about?" Sans asked him, desperate for information and simultaneously wishing that his currently stewing theory was wrong.

The other Sans and the Frisk lookalike both shared a single glance, one of the 'blink and you'll miss it' types of looks, and Sans tucked the information tightly away in his mind.

"We... we really didn't expect to ever come back..." the other Sans quietly pulled a comb from his jacket pocket and began running it over his head, earning an odd stare from the child behind him, who was nearly hiding behind him at this point. "It's... it's kind of a long story."

Sans looked back to the shaken Undyne and Alphys before looking back to him.

"We've got time," he responded flatly, kicking a rolling swivel chair over to his duplicate. "Plant your ass and start talking."

"Yeesh," the alternate version of himself grimaced. "And here I thought _I_ was getting to be a little cranky. Guess that makes me right, nyeh?"

The slightly shorter Frisk never took her eyes off of any of them, resuming her place beside the giant standing bullet with her arms crossed. Sans still couldn't see her eyes, but he could feel her gaze locked onto him.

"First question," Sans started before he was interrupted.

"Ooh, I love twenty questions," his duplicate spoke up with a grin. "Is the answer Carl Sagan?"

" _No_ ," he deadpanned. "I want simple, easy yes or no answers. Any questions?"

"Yes!" the other Sans clapped his hands together. "Was that one of the 'yes or no' questions?"

Sans pinched the sides his head, groaning.

"Look," he emphasized with his hands as he heard Undyne and Alphys moving behind him. "I really don't have time for any smart-assery here..." the alternate Sans frowned slightly. "Things have been kinda stressful and you aren't helping matters."

"Yikes," the other Sans held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright, I'll play nice."

" _Finally,_ we're getting somewhere!" Sans let out a relieved breath. "The phase distortion generator was designed specifically for one purpose and one purpose alone, so I'm going to ask you one time and one time only. Do – you know – the location – of _Gaster?"_

The other Sans stared at him for nearly half a minute before replying.

" _No,_ " he stated. "What kind of a dumb question is tha- oh. Oh. Oh my god. You-you can't be serious."

"Where – is – Gaster?" Sans asked again through his teeth.

"Look man, you're getting in _way_ over your head," the other Sans said uncomfortably.

" _Where is he?!_ " Sans didn't even realize just how loud his voice was growing as he drew closer to the sitting Sans. "I _know_ you know where he is," he jabbed a finger at him. "Tell me what you know!"

"Sans..." Alphys put a hand on his shoulder firmly, but it looked like she was barely able to stand. "Maybe... maybe he doesn't even k-know..."

"Bull _shit_ ," he rolled off her hand, but fought to keep his anger under control.

"The... phase distortion generator here," the duplicate pointed back at the machine without taking his eyes off of them. "You're... You built this? And... and you're trying to bring back, of all monsters, _Gaster?_ "

"Which begs the question..." Sans crossed his arms. "How, exactly, did we manage to get _you_ instead?"

The other Sans did not speak.

"That wasn't a yes or no question," Sans deadpanned again, and his copy nodded once.

"I kinda figured you'd be asking about that sooner or later..." his duplicate said quietly, almost so softly that he was barely heard.

"The phase distorter reaches into the void..." Sans said as he paced back and forth in front of him. "Normally, I'd shrug it off as an odd coincidence, but I stopped believing in coincidences a long, _long_ time ago," Sans slowly came to a stop before him, never once taking his gaze away from him. "We were supposed to get the one monster with the knowledge to stabilize the timeline once and for all, and instead we get two of the three stooges."

"Was that a crack at me and the kid, or the three stooges?" his doppelganger asked with a small smirk.

Sans opened his mouth and closed it before giving in and letting a small smile show.

"Whaddya know, he does have a sense of humor after all," the sitting Sans wiped his forehead with his arm. "I was kinda starting to worry that maybe we've got more differences than I thought."

"Still didn't answer my question."

"We..." the other Sans glanced back to the child behind him, pausing for thought. "We jumped."

"You teleported." It was a statement more than a question.

"Yeah," he nodded once, looking away. "Like I said, it's-it's kind of a long story."

Sans looked over to Undyne and Alphys, who was holding a hand to her still bleeding nose.

"I've got it handled down here, guys," he motioned to them.

"C'mon, Allie," Undyne helped the slightly woozy Alphys to stand straight, letting her lean on her.

"I'm fine..." Alphys responded uncertainly.

"Seriously?" Undyne scoffed. "You look like you were just hit in the face with a car door. Come on, Al. Let me at least make sure that you didn't get a concussion or something."

Alphys unwillingly agreed, following Undyne up the stairs by the hand and leaving them in relative silence for a while.

The other Sans was the first to speak, hands folded together as he sat in contemplation.

"... So," he said at last. "Can't say it's every day that somebody gets brought back from the dead."

"You'd be surprised," Sans crossed his arms again, leaning against the wall opposite him. He froze, the words finally sinking in. "Wait, 'back from the dead'?"

"Again, kind of a long story."

"So give me the abridged version," Sans said humorlessly.

The other Sans let out a long, heavy breath through his teeth, straightening his back and rubbing his tired eyes before speaking.

"We tried something stupid," the doppelganger answered quietly without looking up at him.

"I assume you mean the whole 'teleporting into the void' kind of thing," Sans asked.

"Yeah. That."

"So why?" he pried. "To what end?"

Again, the other Sans didn't answer for the longest time.

"We... got tired," he looked up at him with an almost pleading expression. "Tired of the resets. Tired of doing the exact same thing over and over and over again. Tired of the pointlessness."

"So then what _was_ the point _?_ " Sans asked. "Teleporting into the void? What are you, suicidal?"

His copy didn't answer.

"... Oh my god."

"It's not as bad as it sounds," the alternate Sans held up his hands.

"Oh my _god,_ " Sans ran a hand over his head. "And you tried to take Frisk _with_ you?"

"It was more of a mutual agreement between me and the kid."

Sans let it sink in for a minute.

"You made a goddamn _suicide pact._ "

"Well, when you put it _that_ way," the other version of himself rolled his eyes.

"No!" Sans shook his head. "No, _no_ , there _is_ no 'good' spin of that! What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"Look, 'buddy," Void Sans drew himself up as he stood. "Do _not_ think that you can _judge me_. I've been through things that would make your _hair_ curl."

"So, what?" the original balked. "You want me to just _accept_ the fact that you tried to kill yourself and Frisk?"

"That's... not Frisk," Void Sans frowned, looking back and forth between them. Sans blinked, realizing that during the entire event the child had not actually spoken up once, nor had he even looked directly into her eyes.

The child that looked so much like Frisk slowly, gradually swiveled her head upward, her eyes shining from behind her bangs as she stared unblinkingly up at Sans. He felt a shivering chill rustling from the base of his spine as her bright red eyes met his.

"Greetings," she said at last. "... My name is Chara."

0-0-0-0-0


	23. Them

0-0-0-0-0

Rain was pouring fully as Toriel ushered the children into the car, vainly wishing that Papyrus hadn't taken his own vehicle. She rapidly fumbled with the keys as she struggled to start the engine, hearing it whine again and again as it turned and failed every time. Toriel wanted to pound on the steering wheel in the hopes that it would start, desperately trying again as a tightness clenched her chest.

"Having some problems, Tori?"

Toriel jumped at the sound of Asgore's voice outside of the car, and she rolled down the window to see him standing beneath an umbrella. He was wearing a painfully bright pink sweater and a large, dopey grin, his yellow hair a little matted from the water.

"Asgore?" she frowned, looking through him. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," he jabbed a thumb at the house behind him. "I moved in with Helen."

"God help us all," Toriel pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a quiet sigh. "What do you _want_ Asgore? I'm kind of in a hurry."

"That car of yours is pretty loud. Couldn't help but notice that you're having a bit of trouble," he nodded toward the engine that refused to start. "With the car. In the rain. In the middle of the night. I could give you a lift, if you'd like."

Toriel looked back and forth between the engine and Asgore suspiciously, her eyes narrowed.

"We need to get to Alphys's house," Toriel explained hurriedly. "And quickly; Sans and the others might be in trouble."

"Oh," he noticed the children sitting silently in the back seat. "Don't worry, room for everyone. Hello, Frisk. Hello, Asriel."

"Hello, Mister Dreemur."

"Hi Dad."

"So are we gonna get this show on the road?" Asgore smiled. "I haven't seen Alphys in... in... uh..."

Asgore slowly, silently turned his head until he was looking Asriel square in the eyes, all of the color draining out of his face.

"... Oh my god."

"I'll explain on the way," Toriel was out of the car and dragging him along in mere moments. "We haven't any time to lose!"

"Oh my god," Asgore was shaking as she dragged him to his shining black car, the children following close behind in the rain. "Oh my _god_ , Asriel!"

"It's okay, Dad," Asriel said sheepishly as they filed into Asgore's long black car, glad for the extra roomy seats as they buckled in with Toriel behind the wheel. "What's up with you moving in with Miss Helen though? That's weird."

"Weird," Asgore was turned around completely in the front seat, staring at his lost son. " _Weird._ You're-you're _alive_ and _that's_ what you're concerned with? Tori," he choked. "When-when were you planning on telling me this?"

Toriel shifted uncomfortably as she tore out of the driveway, unused to using a stick shift but quickly adapting.

"Eventually," she said at last with a hint of guilt, peering out through the pouring rain. "I... I was going to tell you eventually."

"Eventually," he repeated quietly, turning to sit and crossing his large arms. "My son – _our_ son – is back from the _dead_ , and you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't exactly consider it 'top priority', Asgore," Toriel turned a tight corner so fast that they nearly went off the road.

"How?" he breathed, looking back at the kids in the rear view window. "How is this even possible? Is... is this real?"

"Alphys," Toriel said softly as she picked up speed, kicking up another gear. "Doctor Alphys and Sans saved him with an artificial body and replacement soul. I... I was going to tell you," she finished guiltily, her features softening as she glanced over at her ex. "I just... couldn't think of the right time, what with the potential end of the world coming. I was going to tell you, Asgore. I just... couldn't bring myself to do it."

"This... this is really happening," Asgore slowly ran a hand through his hair, staring back at Asriel. "Asriel is... god, I've had this dream so many times I can't believe it's happening."

It was silent in the car for a while before Asgore finally tore his eyes away, looking back to Toriel.

"So..." he said as they sped down the road. "How exactly has the whole 'not telling me my son is alive' thing been going for you?"

"I don't know, Asgore," Toriel replied coldly. "How exactly has the whole 'murdered six children' thing been going for you?"

Asgore hung his head in shame and looked away, and Toriel cringed.

"... I'm sorry," he didn't look up, head in his hands. "God, Tori, I-"

"Let's just drop it," Toriel said through her teeth as they tore down the road, rainwater blasting behind them. "Focus on saving Sans first."

"So..." he coughed into his hand. "What, um... exactly did you mean by that little 'end of the world' bit?"

"You'll find out in a few minutes," Toriel said darkly without looking at him. "If we live that long."

0-0-0-0-0

"Greetings. My name is Chara."

Chara stood with her hand outstretched, and for a long few moments Sans didn't move at all. He simply stared at the child in the tattered green sweater. In the brief time it took him to move he spotted a glimpse of what appeared to be cuts beneath and over the arms, but the sweater quickly covered the marks. Sans carefully, slowly held out his hand to meet hers, ready to move in case something should occur.

Much to his surprise, something did occur.

 _Pffffffft._

Sans blinked at the familiar sound of the small whoopie cushion, watching as Chara expressionlessly held up the airbag to show him. The other Sans snickered, hiding a grin.

"... Seriously?" Sans asked, trying not to smile.

"Sorry," Chara said without a hint of remorse as she tucked the toy away in the front pocket. "Couldn't help myself."

"You've been a terrible influence," Sans said to his copy, who only shook his head. "You're supposed to pull that one on people who haven't seen it a hundred times. I'm _hardly_ prime whoopie material here."

"What can I say?" the other Sans shrugged with a small smirk. "Spend enough time with somebody and they start to rub off on ya."

"Ew," Chara frowned. "The less I know about you rubbing off, the better."

Sans actually snorted at that one, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, alright," Sans took a seat opposite his copy, folding his hands in his lap. "Enough jokin' around. I want the full story before I send you two back."

The other Sans and Chara shared an uncomfortable look for a moment.

"We... don't really have much to go back to," the other Sans said, shaking his head. "Why do you think we jumped in the first place?"

"That's something else I want elaboration on," Sans crossed his arms sternly. "And you'd better make sure that your explanation is either highly detailed or _damned_ extraordinary, or I'm going to turn unpleasant, you, uh... you. What do I even call you?" Sans blinked. "Other Sans? Alt Sans?"

"How 'bout Void Sans?" Void shrugged again. "Since that's where you found us?"

"Brilliant," Sans nodded, folding his hands and placing his chin in his thumbs as he watched them. "Continue."

Void sighed, his shoulders slumped.

"You actually want the full story?" he asked, looking very, very tired. "Well, uh, I guess the best place to start would be with the kid."

"That's something _else_ I've gotta know," Sans glanced back to Chara, who had resumed her standing position beside the phase distorter. "What's up with her looking just like Frisk?"

"They."  
"What?"

"They," Void Sans said flatly. "They prefer they, them and their. Not her. Not he. They."

Sans stared at his duplicate for a long moment before finally shrugging.

"Whatever floats your boat, I guess."

"I guess the kid should start," Void looked back to her, but she was staring at a spot on the floor. "I mean, that's how this all technically started. Was with them."

Chara did not speak for a few minutes, standing in awkward silence instead.

"It... we weren't always like this..." Chara explained quietly, arms wrapped tightly. "I'm... technically dead."

"I've had experience bringing dead kids back to life," Sans deadpanned. "But continue."

"I... _awoke,_ " Chara started slowly, not looking up at him. "When Frisk landed on my grave, my spirit was awoken by their _determination_. I was bound to them from that point on."

"... You have my complete attention." Sans leaned forward slightly to hear her soft voice, and caught a gleam of her bright red eyes behind her hair.

"It was fine, at first. I helped them along, taught them about the Underground," Chara stumbled on her words, as if she wanted to get them all out at once. "I helped them find their way around the Ruins, I translated monster speech for them. I gave them everything I could. And then..."

Chara froze, eyes narrowing.

"Frisk..." Chara's voice tightened. "Changed. She wasn't the same every time she came back to one of those 'save points'. With every change, with every reset, Frisk grew... _darker._ More vile, more... profane."

Sans felt a chill at the nape of his neck, but fought it off and leaned in a little closer, watching as Void did the same.

"At first, it-it wasn't so bad..." Chara cleared her throat, her grip on her arms growing tighter. "It was just some no name Froggits cluttering the Ruins that nobody would miss. That's what she told me. At first. After that, she-she wanted more. It wasn't just enough to turn a few monsters to dust, sh-she did it to everyone, everything that she met. After that it wasn't even just the poor unfortunate souls that crossed her path, Frisk would actively seek out monsters to kill. Everything was coated in dust. And at first, that's how I thought things were supposed to be."

Chara grew silent once again, her head hanging as she gradually began speaking again.

"I-I couldn't stop her," Chara slowly sat cross legged. "It was like watching a movie. Watching all those monsters turn to dust was just some sick horror flick that just wouldn't stop for anything. Like it-it wasn't really _happening_ , I-I mean it couldn't have been, I was dead."

"So..." Sans motioned for her to continue when she fell quiet again. "How are you alive now?"

"She... Frisk made me watch," Chara's arms were visibly shaking. "Again. And again. And again. Mom. Dad. Asriel. Undyne. Papyrus. Nobody was spared," her voice softened again, and Void Sans was looking away. "Not until forty-nine resets later. Exactly forty-nine. That's when I gained control. When I finally gained enough strength to take over this frail body and make it _mine._ "

Sans suddenly felt like being sick.

"You're... a _ghost,_ " it clicked at last. "A ghost possessing the body of a murder-hungry _Frisk_."

"Pretty much," Void shrugged.

"And-and you're just _okay_ with this?" Sans looked back and forth between them.

"Okay?" Void Sans laughed bitterly as he stood. "I'm not okay with _anything_ anymore. Everything I worked for is gone. Everyone that I knew and loved is gone. You think I'm actually _okay_ with this?!"

Chara's shoulders were shaking as they quietly cried in the corner, and Void Sans gently put a hand on their shoulder before pulling her into a hug.

"Hey, hey there," Void said with a soft tone as he let the child cry on his shoulders. "Hang in there, buddy. Everything's gonna work out fine. Just you wait and see."

Sans collapsed into his own chair, the guilt of making a child cry suddenly weighing on his shoulders, but everything that they said was still ringing in his head.

"Why?" Sans asked at last, and they both looked up. "Why didn't you just reset after you took over?"

"... I was afraid," Chara sniffed miserably. "I was a-afraid of w-what would happen. That I would lose control. I c-couldn't watch it happen anymore. Not again."

"So," Sans rubbed his eyes wearily, one hand over his face as he spoke. "So I've got the ghost of a dead child possessing a murderous Frisk from an alternate timeline and a suicidal Sans-"

"Hey, hey, _whoa,_ " Void interrupted him angrily. "Nobody said I'm _suicidal_ , 'buddy'. We just tried something kinda crazy is all. And it worked, dinnit?"

"Let me guess," Sans looked him dead in the eye. "You tried teleporting further than you ever had before. Jumping through your own timeline wasn't enough to escape; you had to find a way out of your own timeline."

"That's... a pretty spot on guess," Void Sans said uncomforably.

"I'm you," Sans stated flatly. "Or at least, a version of you. I know how you think. 'Buddy'."

It was silent in the basement for a long while aside from the few sniffles from Chara, who Sans slowly helped to stand.

"... So," Void said without looking at him. "I guess this is the part where you send us back, huh."

Sans looked at the miserable pair, between the bloodshot eyes of Chara to the sagging shoulders of his duplicate.

"... No," he said at last, watching as the weight was lifted off their shoulders. "I'm not gonna send you back. I mean, jeez, what do you take me for, some kind of beast?"

"Good to hear it, buddy," Void grinned as he looked up at him, and for a moment Sans could have sworn he saw tears in his eyesockets.

"So-so what are we going to do now?" Chara asked, rubbing her nose with the edge of her sleeve.

"Pffft, I dunno," Sans shrugged, pulling out a pair of spectacles and inspecting them closely. "I guess you can stick around our place until we figure out what to do with you two."

"Our place?" Void Sans blinked. "You live with Alphys?"

"Nah, that's Undyne's job. I live with Tori."

"... Who?"

A loud _bang_ of a door being kicked open was heard not too far away, swiftly followed by "Where the _hell_ is my boyfriend?!"

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Heyyo! Thanks for sticking around for so long everybody, it really has been fun writing Undertale for you guys. I'm super grateful for all of the comments and advice on the story. I can't believe that I've written over a novel's worth of OverTale already, it feels like I was just starting this story a week ago. More chapters are on the way!


	24. You Had One Job

0-0-0-0-0

Alphys sat with an ice pack over her nose, watching as her former employer tightly hugged his son before her. It was a pretty heartfelt moment, at least until Papyrus interrupted.

"I left as soon as I got the message," he informed them, wiping rainwater from his skull and away from his eye patch and looking about the place. "Love the new doorless look, Doctor Alphys."

"Gee, thanks," Alphys's voice was slightly muffled behind the bag of ice, and Undyne rolled her eyes. "I have to give Sans most of the credit for that though."

"Aside from the rainwater all over the place it's kind of nice though," Papyrus was still trying to move past the kneeling king, and failing miserably.

"I appreciate the effort, Papyrus."

"I hate to be a bother," he started awkwardly, looking back out at the thunderstorm. "But would you happen to have a mop? Perhaps a few dozen rolls of paper towels?"

"Why do you need a dozen rolls of paper towels?" Undyne stared at him.

"Well, _somebody's_ got to dry up the water out of my car."

"Um..." Frisk started awkwardly after checking outside, looking up to Papyrus. "Paps, you-you do know that there's a little button in the car that makes the roof go up, right?"

"My car has a _roof_?" he clapped a hand to his head. "Are you kidding me? And this whole time I've just been letting it fill up with rainwater!"

"Alphys."

She turned at the sound of Asgore's voice, surprised to suddenly see him standing before her.

"Y-yes, your h-highness?"

"I understand that you are the one responsible for bringing my son back to me," he knelt before her so that they were eye level. "I cannot begin to express my gratitude."

"O-oh," she began turning a bright shade of pink. "It-it really isn't that big of a d- _hrrrk!_ "

Asgore laughed as he lifted her up in a positively bone crushing hug, her feet kicking a little as he swung her back and forth.

"This is a cause for great celebration!" Asgore's booming voice echoed throughout the house. Alphys patted him lightly on the shoulder, struggling in his grip.

"That's g-great and all," she wheezed. "But I c-can't breathe, your highness...!"

"Please," he beamed as he set her down. "Call me Asgore."

"Of-of course, your highness."

"Now," Asgore clapped his hands together loudly. "Can someone _please_ explain to me what this 'end of the world' business is all about?"

"It's... complicated," Alphys dropped the ice pack on the table, frowning.

"So give me the uncomplicated version," Asgore said expressionlessly.

"Long story short?" Undyne grinned. "Follow me to the basement."

0-0-0-0-0

"Where the _hell_ is my boyfriend?"

"And _that's_ my cue," Sans stood with a small smile, watching as Toriel blazed down the stairs.

"Sans!" Toriel scooped him up and swung him around, laughing. "Oh my god, I thought I'd lost y- there are two of you." she froze in place, staring back and forth between Sans and his doppelganger.

"So," Sans said as she slowly lowered him to the floor. "I've got good news, bad news and terrible news. Which one do you want first?"

"Surprise me," Toriel murmured as she glanced back and forth between the nearly identical skeletons. Chara had suddenly become very, very still as she stood directly behind Void Sans, utterly unmoving.

"So," Sans clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Good news is, we know what caused the spike and the world isn't ending. Bad news is, handsome and the kid here don't have a place to stay."

"So what's the terrible news?"

"They're kinda staying with us until we find out what to do with 'em."

Void Sans shrugged.

"If that's as bad as the news gets, I guess it's not so bad here," he grinned up at Toriel. "Nice t'meetcha, by the way," Void Sans held out a hand to her. "Have we met before?"

"Sans," Toriel gently took his hand to shake it, looking back and forth between them before narrowing her gaze on the battered child. "What _exactly_ is going on here?"

"So..." Sans cleared his throat. "We sort of, uh... brought Void Sans here and his 'friend' out of the ether and into our world. They jumped ship on their own timeline, from what I'm guessing is a timeline where monsters never even left the Underground."

"Monsters _leave_ the Underground?!" Void Sans balked at him, mouth hanging slightly open. "So-so all of those weird dreams – the ones where everything turns out okay, where everyone makes it out, that... that actually _happened?_ "

"Well, you didn't think we were still beneath the surface, did you?" Toriel smiled at him kindly.

"I think I need a minute," Void Sans clapped a hand to his forehead, breathing heavily.

"Take two, we've got spares," Sans grinned.

"My child," Toriel beckoned the Frisk lookalike toward her. "Are you injured? You look as if you've been in a fight, are you alright?"

"... Mom?" Chara stood with shaking hands, red eyes watering as she looked up at Toriel.

"It's quite alright, child," she pulled them into a tight hug. "You don't have to worry anymore. I'm here."

Alarm bells suddenly went off in Sans's head and he reached deep for the magic the moment Toriel knelt to hug the child, but when she pulled away Chara's expression had changed to that of misery, tears falling freely.

"Mom," they choked as they buried their head against her. "M-Mom, it-it's me-"

"I know my own child," Toriel replied softly in a wavering voice, pulling her closer. "You don't have to say anything. I know. I know, Chara."

Chara felt silent as they clung to Toriel, shoulders silently shaking. They stayed like that in relative silence for a while, each Sans awkwardly rubbing the backs of their heads.

"Twice now," Toriel started slowly as she stood, hand firmly on Chara's shoulder. "Twice now you have brought my children back to me, Sans."

"It's not really a big deal," both Sanses spoke at once, grinning uneasily at each other.

"I don't know how I can ever repay you," her voice wavered but when she looked up she was beaming. "I can't begin to tell you what this means to me."

"If it's any consolation it was mostly by accident," Sans shrugged awkwardly, moving to place a hand on his copy's shoulder as the sound of multiple people coming down the stairs alarmed him. "I've got a few things to ask Void Sans here in private. I'm... gonna take gorgeous here to Grillby's before it gets cluttered down here."

"Oh god I forgot about Asgore," Toriel groaned, but they were already gone.

0-0-0-0-0

Sans and Void landed out of the teleport at the entrance to Grillby's pub, with the former clutching his chest and wheezing in the chill night air.

"You, uh... alright there, buddy?" Void asked him with his hand on the door.

"Fine," Sans waved him off, straightening his aching back as he pulled out his cellphone and began texting a quick message to Papyrus.

 _Hey, Papyrus. Are you with Tori?_

 _OF COURSE! WHERE DID YOU RUN OFF TO, BROTHER?_

 _Paps, I need you to keep a close eye on the kid._

 _OKAY SANS! WHICH ONE?_

 _The new one._

… _YOU BROUGHT BACK_ ANOTHER _ONE? SANS, I FEEL WE NEED TO DISCUSS YOUR APPARENT ISSUES WITH DEAD CHILDREN._

Sans slipped his phone back into his pocket, following his doppelganger inside the bar and grill. Grillby had obviously had some work done to the place since the last time he'd been there, as there were a row of neat gaslight lamps along the walls and high ceiling fans slowly circling above. There were a surprising number of customers both monster and human alike there despite the hour of the night, and they both made their way to a couple of seats. Sans's phone buzzed in hi pocket, but he ignored it.

Void Sans whistled lowly, hands in his pocket as they approached the bar.

"Swanky," Void nodded with a grin to Grillby.

"Double order of burg and some cold ones, Grillbz," Sans sat down wearily. "One for me and one for my incredibly handsome friend here."

"Where?" Grillby tilted his glasses, pulling out a pair of bottles from behind the counter. "Behind this other Sans?"

"Oh, _ha ha,_ " Sans rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile.

"I always said you could eat twice your weight," Grillby grinned back. "At least now you're filling in the extra seat."

"My god I've missed you Grillby." Void was positively beaming back at him.

"You don't seem all that surprised to see two of me..." Sans shifted awkwardly in his seat, and Grillby set his gaze on him.

"Sans, I am a bartender by choice and by trade," he explained with a wry smile. "I have seen _far_ stranger."

And with that he left the odd pair in relative silence, listening to the buzz of the atmosphere. He could feel his cellphone vibrating in his pocket once again, but he pushed it to the back of his mind.

"So," Sans said after a few minutes of quiet contemplation. "I got a few answers out of the kid. Your turn."

"Man, am I really that blunt when I turn all business?" Void gave him an odd look from the corner of his eyesocket.

"Yes," Sans answered humorlessly. "I wanna talk to you about the resets."

"Kinda figured that's what all the pomp and circumstance was about," Void admitted, taking a swig from his bottle. "At least you're smart enough to take me out to dinner first."

"That, and... I don't exactly trust that kid of yours."

" _My_ kid?" Void Sans balked.

"Yes, _your_ kid," Sans felt a pressure in the side of his head building. " _You_ made the decision to jump headfirst into the void with them, they're _your_ responsibility."

"Okay, wow," Void's skeletal eyebrows rose. "You used the 'r' word, you must really be serious."

"I am," he retorted. "Could you _please_ at least pretend to be?"

"Alright, alright," Void pulled at the collar of his shirt. "Yeesh."

Sans took in a deep breath through his teeth as their food arrived, and he let his duplicate get in a few bites before interrupting.

"First question," Sans hadn't even touched his own food. "What's your last memory before you two jumped ship on your timeline?"

"Last thing I remember?" Void swallowed, thinking. "We were in the Judgment Hall."

"Fighting?"

"Nah," Void Sans shrugged. "That was before that. It was after they took over the kid."

"Frisk."

"I try not to use the 'f' word around the kid," Void said utterly without emotion.

"Alright, alright," Sans ran a hand over his head. "Next question. How long were you in the void?"

"No idea..." Void Sans paused, staring through the bar. "It must have been quite a while, if you had time to get the whole Underground out."

"Again, thanks to the kid."

"... Seriously?" Void stared at him, burger dripping juice onto his plate. "Your-your kid _saved_ monsterkind?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

"It's just..." Void pulled his jacket a little closer. "It's just _weird_ is all. To see Grillby again. To see _anyone_ again. And you're telling me that your version of the kid actually saves monsters from an eternity underground..."

They both fell silent for a while, Sans watching his duplicate hungrily chowing down.

"You gonna eat that?" Void asked, pointing at his burger. Sans shrugged and passed the plate to him, and he tore into it with passion.

"Alright," Sans coughed into one hand to no avail. "Next question. Have you, at _any_ point in time, seen Gaster after the incident?"

"Nope," he answered immediately.

"Not-not even in the void?"

"Nope," he answered again.

Sans let out a quiet sigh, feeling a weight in his stomach despite not eating anything.

"I've got a few questions of my own..." Void asked between bites.

"Shoot," Sans said, reclining with his hands behind his head.

"How long have we been out?"

"Out as in how long have you been in the void, or how long have monsters been out of the Underground?"

"Either one."

"Frisk got everyone out a little over a year ago," Sans said without looking at him. Void seemed to absorb this information silently, poring over his drink for a long few minutes. Sans's phone began shaking in his pocket once again, and he groaned as he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Come on, Paps, you had one job-"

He froze when he saw how many missed calls that he had, along with a single message.

 _THE CHILD IS GONE._

0-0-0-0-0


	25. The Mountain

0-0-0-0-0

" _Papyrus!"_

Sans collapsed on the front lawn of Alphys's home, clutching the left side of his chest with his spare hand and wheezing breathily. The cold rain was pouring out of the sky and drenching them both, obscuring their vision but Void could still see the glimpse of periwinkle in Sans's left eye from the use of blue magic.

"Whoa, buddy, you-you don't look so good," Void helped him to his feet.

"Papyrus!" Sans coughed, stumbling and barging in through the front door. He made it a few feet in the dim light before running smack dab into none other than Mettaton before falling right onto his back and rubbing his sore face.

"Oh, hello there darling," the humanoid robot turned on the spot, hands on his hips. "Do you mind not tracking water all over the place? I'm going to wind up rusting at this rate."

"Mettaton?" Void balked at him, helping Sans to his feet once again. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I have him on speed dial!" Papyrus's head poked around the corner. "Perfect for situations like this one. Mettaton has a very level head. Flat on top, actually."

"I-I don't – but he's – _speed dial?_ " Sans ran a hand over his wet head, staring. "Never mind that; Papyrus, where is the human?"

"Which one?" he blinked.

"Whichever one is gone!"

"The Frisk clone?" Papyrus asked. "She snuck out just a bit after you left – Toriel and the others went looking for them just a minute ago, they asked me to stand guard just in case the human came back."

"Decent plan," Sans nodded once.

"Um..." Papyrus tapped his fingerbones together. "You aren't... _mad_ at me, are you Sans?"

He let out a long quiet sigh, patting him on the elbow.

"No, Paps. I'm not mad. Irritated, sleep deprived and kinda hungry, but not mad."

"P-Papyrus?" Void stepped out from behind Sans, staring up at the taller skeleton. "Is... is it really...?" he choked, pulling out a tattered red scarf from his jacket pocket.

"Sans..." Papyrus started, looking back and forth between them. "There appear to be... _two_ of you. Care to explain?"

"Paps," Void Sans's voice was shaking as much as his arms as he hugged Papyrus. "Y-you're back... I-I can't believe you're alright...!"

"Of course I am, dear brother," Papyrus patted him kindly on the back. "I'm not entirely certain what's going on, but you have no need to fret. I'm not going anywhere."

"I missed you, bro."

They stood like that in the doorway for a little while, Sans and Mettaton occasionally glancing awkwardly between each other. Void eventually pulled away and wiped his eyes with the red cloth, smiling.

"Where'd you even get an eye patch, anyway?"

"Kind of a long story."

"I gotcha."

"Is that my old scarf?" Papyrus asked quietly. "What on earth are you doing with that dusty old thing?"

"It's... kind of a long story," Void Sans answered without looking up.

"So," Mettaton coughed into his hand, brushing a lock of metallic hair from his face. "Anyone at all going to explain why there's two of your brother now, Papyrus?"

"Why are you even _here_?" Sans asked. " _That's_ an important question."

"Well," Papyrus started, crossing his arms. "I figured that, what with the whole 'world resetting' thing going on, we should all keep in touch with our loved ones a little more."

"... Oh no," Sans felt a sudden drop in his stomach.

"So Mettaton and I are dating now!" Papyrus beamed at him, earning an absolutely horrified look from Void Sans and Classic Sans alike. "Isn't it great?"

"So-so you're, like... dating," Void glanced at the robot for a moment. "As in, dating dating."

"Eey-uh-huh."

"As in you like each other," the color drained from his face.

"That we do," Mettaton answered with a nod.

"But in a romantic way."

"Absolutely," Papyrus nodded.

"And the feeling is reciprocal."

"That is also true."

"And you have a relationship."

"Correct."

"Together."

"Positive."

"Right," Void nodded after a moment of contemplation. "Be right back.

Void Sans calmly walked around the corner, and the sound of pained retching echoed in the hall shortly after.

"... He seems to be taking it rather well," Sans said expressionlessly.

"Weren't we supposed to be looking out for the human?" Mettaton offered.

"Where would they even go, though?" Papyrus scratched his head.

"I think I have a pretty good idea..." Sans took a slow look out the broken door and gazed up at the towering mountainside of Ebott, and took off out the door and clicked his fingers. Papyrus reached out for his brother, but by the time he got there he had already vanished into the night.

0-0-0-0-0

The rain on the mountainside fell at a light drizzle where Sans landed out of his teleport. He fell to his knees the moment he arrived, gasping for breath that would not come. A violently sharp pain in the left side of his chest blossomed outward like wildfire, and he could only wheeze for several minutes before the pain finally subsided enough to allow him to weakly stand.

 _I can't keep doing this for much longer..._

Sans peered about in the darkness for a moment before reaching for his cellphone, flicking on the bright built in flashlight to illuminate the shadows. Fortunately, he appeared to have reappeared close to one of the mountain's many trails, and he began searching the ground in desperate prayer to whatever deity would listen that he would find what he was looking for. It took him several painfully long minutes, but at last, he discovered a glimmer of hope.

Footprints.

Small, uneven footprints winding up the side of the mountain, nearly washed away by the rain. Upon further inspection it appeared as if whoever had left them had tripped and fallen many times, and Sans grimly nodded to himself before taking off in the direction that they had gone. There was no longer any doubt whatsoever.

Chara was ascending Mount Ebott.

Sans took in a long, deep breath and wiped the rainwater from his brow before bolting up the mountainside, nearly doubled over as he sprinted. It wasn't long before he was gasping for breath yet again, and he vainly wished that he hadn't become so out of shape in the last year. His legs burned as he pumped them as fast as he could, pressing himself harder and harder to push past the fallen branches and clambering through the gradually thinning crunching fallen leaves, the footprints that he followed becoming more and more scarce as mud and earth began to give way to gravel and stone.

Sans pushed himself harder and faster, his dim light swaying as he barely managed to avoid slipping in his untied shoes, the pain in the left side of his chest returning as the climb became more difficult. How the kid could possibly have the energy to continue all the way up the mountain in such a short amount of time was nothing less than remarkable, but he could marvel at the child's climbing ability later.

 _If they're even still alive._

Sans was quick to force the thought from his clouded head, screaming the child's name until his voice became hoarse and straining to keep a decent pace as the freezing rain gradually began to fall harder and harder, the ominous rumble of thunder growing closer and closer above. The dim light from his cellphone seemed paltry now in the swallowing darkness, and he silently vowed to have Alphys make a few adjustments to the store bought plastic garbage.

Finally, at long last he found a small clue that he was even going in the right direction. Sans almost missed it at first it was so small, but it was caught in the light; a small shred of Chara's sweater hanging from a low hanging branch swaying in the cold wind. He clutched it in his hand, breaths falling fast and hard as he reached deep for a newfound determination. They were close, they had to be. He found a whole mess of footprints nearby, along with tracks that looked as if a fight with someone had occurred from the imprints in the dirt. Who the kid could have been fighting with was still up in the air, but he had a pretty good idea.

Sans forced his breathing to level as he continued up the mountainside, struggling to keep the panic from taking over. If that happened, he might as well just give up; fear would inevitably dim his mind, dull his senses. If he wanted to save the kid, he needed to stay sharp.

It felt like he had been climbing for hours when he finally spotted the child standing in the rain not too far away, peering over the edge of a humongous hole in the mountain. Sans reached out for them, unable to breathe as he strained to speak.

" _Kid,_ " he wheezed, but Chara did not seem to hear him through the rain. They did however slowly turn their head when the light washed over them, and he saw that their eyes were swollen from crying.

"Go away!" they backed away toward the hole, eyes widening. "S-stay _away_ from me!"

Perhaps it had been because of the dark, or the rain, or the unfortunate root sticking out of the ground behind their foot, but Chara swung as they tripped backwards. Arms outstretched and waving, they seemed to freeze in time for just a moment, both meeting each other's eyes for a long, silent moment.

And then they fell.

" _Kid!_ " Sans croaked, throwing out his free hand and reaching as deep as he could for the magic.

Nothing happened.

Sans swore aloud and cursed himself down to his bones for what he was about to do.

Without waiting another second he cast himself into the gaping maw of the mountain, darkness devouring him as he fell. He caught sight of Chara tumbling through the air in the light of his phone, and he let go if it to grab hold of them with both hands as he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable impact.

It never came.

Sans blinked after a moment, breathing heavily.

A bright, periwinkle glow was lighting up the long throat of the mountain, and he held the child close as they ever so slowly began to rise through the air.

"Hey there," Void Sans grinned as they ascended through the hole and onto the ground, looking utterly exhausted as they dropped safely. Sans held the quivering child in his arms, shielding them from the rain. "Didja miss me, handsome?"

"What-" Sans spluttered, still out of breath. "You're – _how_?"

"You took off without me," he held a hand to his chest as he approached. "I'm a little hurt, to be honest."

"How'd you know where to look?" Sans stared at his sopping wet twin.

"Your teleports have gotten sloppy," Void smirked. "You left a magical imprint a mile wide. I could follow it easy, kinda like a magic bloodhound. 'Cept, y'know. No nose," he pointed to his nose hole.

"You beautiful, magnificent bastard," Sans coughed out a shaky laugh.

He slowly lowered Chara to the ground, and he could tell that they were still silently sobbing.

"... Why?" Chara breathed after a moment to wipe their eyes, looking between them before pushing the wet hair from their face. "W-why w-would you s-save me?"

"Well..." Sans shrugged. "Why not?"

Chara looked down between their feet, rubbing their eyes.

"Come on, kiddo," Sans said quietly. "Just tell me why."

"... I dunno," they refused to look up, and Void Sans gave a waving motion for Sans to back up a bit as he approached the child. Sans nodded in understanding, giving his doppelganger space.

"... I think you do know," Void said quietly as he put a hand on their shoulder. "If you won't tell him, I get that. But at least have the decency to tell me."

"I-I don't d-deserve this," Chara choked after a painfully long minute.

"What d'you mean, kid?"

" _Any_ of this...!" they pulled at their hair, eyes bloodshot. "I-I d-don't _deserve_ to h-have my family back-"

"C'mon, kid-"

"I'm a _freak!_ "

The sound of their scream echoed despite the rain, and both Sanses froze.

"I'm..." Chara's voice slowly tapered off. "I'm... I'm an _abomination_. I d-don't _deserve_ to li-"

"Don't you _dare,_ " Void shook them suddenly, looking them square in the eyes. "Don't you freakin' _dare_. I know _who_ and _what_ you are, and you are _not_ some-some freak of nature. We are here – we're _alive_ , and you were just gonna _throw it all away_?"

"I-I'm sorry," Chara's voice was weak and they tearfully looked back down. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Kid. Kid," Void's gaze softened and he pulled them into a tight hug. "Buddy. It's okay. You don't have to be sorry. Everything is gonna work out. Okay? Just... just _trust_ me. It'll make my job a whole lot easier."

"What-what if..." they started, as if unsure if they should even speak at all. "What if it all happens again? What if I lose control? What am I supposed to do then?"

"You won't, kid. Everything is gonna be alright. I promise."

Chara sniveled and fell against his coat, burying their head into his shoulder and shaking violently as they sobbed.

"... Come on, kid. Let's go home."

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

I'm always on the lookout for grammatical errors, so if I missed any please let me know.

Next chapter should be up soon!


	26. Have Fun With That

0-0-0-0-0

The rain had finally begun to let up by the time they carefully wandered down the mountain's trails. The drizzle dripped freely through the pines as they meandered along the path. The occasional distant peal of lightning could still be seen as the storm passed them by, the rolling thunder growing further and further away as they descended. Water bounced off of them as they walked, Chara's hand firmly in Void Sans's.

"Not a problem, Tori," Sans spoke into Void's borrowed (ancient) cellphone. "Just have the others stay there for now. Yeah, of course. We're on our way down now."

He clicked it shut and handed it back to Void, wearily trudging along in front of their impromptu train with Chara practically being dragged along.

"Whelp," Sans stuck his hands in his pockets after brushing the rain from his face. "You about gave Tori a heart attack and Alphys had a semi-nervous breakdown. Not to mention my brother hooked up with a robot, but I'm not entirely certain I can pin that one on you. Hope you're proud of yourself, kid."

Chara hung their head in shame, unable to quite meet his gaze.

"It was a pretty stupid thing to pull," Void said quietly as they walked. "Just what were you tryin' to prove by that little stunt, anyway?"

Chara didn't respond.

"... Suit yourself," Void gave a limp half shrug.

"What, that's it?" Sans glanced back at him. "No monologue about how it was an irresponsible and stupid thing to do?"

"Nah," Void shrugged again. "I figure that's best left to the motherly authority. You tellin' me that she's _not_ gonna grill the kid over this?"

"Fair enough," Sans matched his shrug with one of his own.

Sans suddenly shivered and convinced himself that it was only because of the rain. He felt a little bit sorry for the kid.

The wrath of Toriel was not something he wanted on his head.

That was partially why they omitted a certain 'nearly falling to their deaths' bit from their explanation, which Sans quietly felt as if he was going to regret later.

0-0-0-0-0

The warm glow of the television screen cast long shadows over the sofa, dancing shades skittering across the room. Sans sleepily watched a bored weatherman explaining the sudden influx of rain, jabbing at different areas across the map with a pointer. He almost forgot that Chara was sitting beside him in the dark, curled up in a spare blanket with a steaming mug of hot chocolate to warm her hands. They stayed like that for quite a while, in relative silence, listening to the droning of the weatherman as the light rain continued to drum on the roof and tap gently at the windows.

They had returned to the quiet home after a tearful reunion, and Toriel had stayed up with them for a long while before finally meandering off to bed with a quiet kiss to Sans. Chara made a gagging motion but watched her leave, and they sat for a long time in quiet.

"... Are you just gonna stay up all night?" Chara asked at last, not looking up at him.

"Unless you've got any better ideas," Sans withheld a yawn. He cast a weary glance over to his sleeping duplicate with his feet kicked up in the reclining chair just off to the side of the fireplace, occasionally emanating quiet little snores. "Besides, _somebody's_ gotta keep an eye on you."

Chara pulled the blanket a little tighter, scowling. They took a small sip of their still steaming cocoa, watching the television.

"... I know what you're up to," Chara said after a few minutes, and Sans blinked awake.

"Whuzzat?"

"You're trying to make sure I don't sneak off again."

"I thought we already established this?" Sans flipped the channel on the television to a game show where humans acted out scenes from slips of paper that they'd pulled from a hat.

"Don't attempt to get smarmy with me."

"Who says 'smarmy' anymore?" he snorted. "What'd you do, kid, eat an old thesaurus or somethin'?"

"You know what I mean," they replied coldly.

Silence washed over the room like a wave for a little while, and Sans absentmindedly flipped through channels until he found an odd black and white film about a monster made from an amalgamation of human parts and given life. It was fascinating in a way, but he still had to fight to keep awake.

"... Do you think I'm a demon?"

Sans blinked, looking down at the child beside him. They were not watching the screen any longer, however, instead gazing deep into their empty cup.

"A _demon_?" Sans cocked a skeletal eyebrow. "Nah. A weird little kid who's made some dumb decisions? Sure. But nobody thinks you're a demon, kid. You'll be alright."

"... Thanks, I guess," Chara answered almost silently, still not looking at him.

"Don't mention it," he grunted with a small shrug.

"You couldn't pay me to."

Quiet once again swelled to fill the room, and Sans readjusted himself to a more uncomfortable position to ensure that his eyes didn't close. But from all the exertion recently, the lack of sleep from the last few days, he could still feel his eyes drooping...

At least, until he remembered something strange, and his eyes shot wide open. His trembling hand drifted to his chest where he could have sworn that he'd find a wound, yet found nothing but his thin shirt.

"... So," Chara swirled the remnants of their drink around without looking at him. "Funnybones over there told me something."  
"What's that?" he fought to keep his voice even, suddenly unable to look directly at them.

"Sans – my Sans, not you – he told me that sometimes, he would get these..." they mimed holding something with their hands. "These weird dreams that he couldn't tell whether or not they were memories. Visions, almost. Dreams where everything goes right. Dreams where I'm... different."

Sans was wide awake now, a couple theories bouncing around his head, but he kept them to himself.

"Did he now," Sans said quietly, casting a glance once again back to his doppelganger.

"So how can he have dreams like that?" Chara asked quietly. "How can he have dreams about a world neither of us have ever seen?"

"Sanses are weird sometimes," Sans shrugged. "Although it is entirely possible that due to the proximity of our timelines the two of us could have developed a low level psychic connection that allowed us to catch glimpses of the other's world every now and then."

"How would that even work?" Chara blinked, looking up at him.

"Pffft, I dunno," he lied, looking back to the television screen. "Shouldn't you be resting up for tomorrow, anyway?"

"Why?" they frowned again. "What's important about tomorrow?"  
"Tomorrow's Monday."

"... _And_?" Chara rolled their hand through the air expectantly.  
"And your mom is a schoolteacher," Sans changed channels once again, more out of distraction than anything. "You seriously think she's gonna just let you out of her sight for eight hours out of the day?"

Chara groaned deeply, holding their head in their hands.

"Sucks to be you, kid," he chortled. "I don't have to do _anything_ tomorrow."

0-0-0-0-0

Sans read and reread the note to ensure that he hadn't missed anything, and he desperately wished that he hadn't read it at all.

 _Sans,_

 _Would you mind watching the children for me for the day? Something has come up with Alphys, I'll be with her all day and I won't be back until sometime tonight._

 _Thanks!_

 _Love from Tori_

"... God _dammit_."

0-0-0-0-0


	27. If Every Pork Chop Were Perfect

0-0-0-0-0

"Gotta be freakin' kidding me, Tori..." Sans grumbled to himself as he pored over the note, turning it over in the hopes that it had some greater explanation. However, he found nothing, and he let out a quiet sigh. Whatever it was that she had to run off to see Alphys about before the sun was even up must have been important, but he sorely wished that she would have at least told him about it. Sans stood at the table for the longest time, staring down at the wood grain and losing himself in the whorls, his mind abuzz with questions and thoughts. He wanted to give in to the exhaustion that seemed to cling to him like pollen lately, crash back onto the sofa and let the sweet embrace of slumber take him, but he shrugged it off and sighed, forcing himself to concentrate.

Sans set about making fresh coffee and cracking a couple of eggs, the sizzling of the pan mingling with the rising birdsong outside in the crisp, damp morning air. He stifled a yawn as he prepared toast, waffles and bacon for everyone, finally finishing just as the sun began to rise over the horizon. The friendly chirrup of birds outside kept him company for a while. Sans sat with a satisfied grunt at his usual place at the kitchen table, taking a few long droughts of his coffee as he haphazardly gazed over the newspaper with one hand.

"You made breakfast?"

Sans nearly leaped out of his seat at the sound of Asriel's voice behind him, dropping the paper.

"Yeesh, kid, give me some _warning_ next time," he clutched the left side of his chest. "Do I have to put a friggin' bell around your neck?"

"Ha ha and _ha,"_ Asriel helped himself to waffles with a deadpan look, grabbing one of the glass bottles of purple liquid from the refrigerator. He wore striped blue pajamas identical to Frisks's and an utterly unamused look that seemed to be on his face more and more often lately. "That was just so hilarious that I forgot to laugh."

"It's just the curse of being so darned charming," Sans swooned with the back of his hand to his forehead. "Alas, if only I hadn't been rolled with an eighteen charisma."

"What are you even _talking_ about?" Asriel asked through a mouthful of food.

"... I'm unappreciated in my time," Sans sighed quietly.

"Uncle Sans, you can _cook_?"

Sans glanced up from the article he'd been reading to see Frisk standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes.

"What?" Sans blinked as she sat down at the table. "I can cook. I'm great at it."

"So what's the occasion?" she asked as she snagged a couple of waffles. "The most I've ever seen you cook is, like, hot dogs."

"I can cook all sorts of things!" he snorted, folding down the paper to stare at her. "Just because I generally choose _not_ to doesn't mean that I'm utterly incapable of making breakfast."

"... Did Mom make all this?" Asriel asked with his mouth full. Sans pinched the spot between his eyes with a sigh.

"Oh, ye of little faith," he shook his head sadly.

"Where is Mom, anyway?" Frisk kicked her legs back and forth, casting an odd glance into the dark living room where Chara and Void Sans still soundly slept.

"She... _left_ earlier," Sans suddenly found it difficult to find the right words, a bizarre paranoia prickling at the back of his mind, but he fought it off. "She'll be back later tonight."

"She-she left?" Asriel swallowed and balked at him. "Why? For what? Where did she go?"

Sans started to reply before he was interrupted yet again.

"Whoa, who cooked all this? It smells _great_!" Void Sans stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door frame lazily and looking as if he hadn't slept at all.

"Good morning to you too," Sans nodded to his double. "And to answer your question, I did."

"... No, but, seriously," Void stared back at him. "Who made breakfast?"

Sans facepalmed and shook his head.

"What?" Void dropped into one of the seats and began piling eggs and bacon onto his plate. "Was it something that I said?"

"So..." Asriel poked at the remainder of his food with his fork, thinking aloud. "So, if Mom left, that probably means we're going to have a substitute teacher..."

"Do you think it's going to be Undyne again?" Frisk asked worriedly. "I think half the class is still recovering after 'the dodgeball incident'."

"Does this mean we don't have to go to school today?" Asriel asked Sans hopefully.

"Yes, you still have to go to school," Sans deadpanned, much to the dismay of Asriel. "Your education is important. By the way," he looked over to his duplicate, who was busy shoveling food into his mouth with abandon. "You're gonna help today, right?"

Void stopped eating.

"... Whelp," he stood suddenly with a blank expression. "I'm goin' to Grillby's."

"Now hang on-"

But Void was already gone with a click of his fingers, as if he had never been there at all.

"... God _dammit_."

"Sans!" Papyrus poked his head around the corner after hurriedly traipsing down the stairs, already wearing his many pocketed guard's uniform. "Quarter in the swear jar."

"We don't have a swear jar," Sans frowned.

"We should get one!" Frisk chipped in.

"I disagree with that notion."

"Good morning by the way, brother," Papyrus patted him on the head. "Wow, Toriel really did a fantastic job with breakfast, it's practically a feast in here."

Sans suddenly felt as if they were going to need a swear jar.

0-0-0-0-0

It didn't take long for everyone to prepare for the day, and time seemed to practically fly by. Before long they had all piled into Papyrus's still slightly damp convertible, all three children buckled into the back seat and the open road before them. The clouds had finally parted to allow the morning sun to shine through, rays of light illuminating the last remaining patches of shadow here and there. The wind rustled over them noisily, and the cool morning air made them all shiver.

"So..." Frisk started conversationally as they drove, Papyrus's swerving unnerving them all. "Uncle Sans?"

"What's up, kiddo?" he asked without looking around, instead glancing back into the rear view mirror.

"How come we didn't just take one of your shortcuts to school? Wouldn't it be faster?"

"Oh, y'know," he shrugged without meeting her gaze. "Gotta take the scenic route every now and then or you'll forget how pretty the world's nature is."

"Looks like boring suburbs to me," Chara quipped coldly.

"Eh, you know what I mean..." Sans answered flippantly. "There's still a sort of beauty to human architecture, if you really look hard."

"Actually, I'm with Chara on this one," Asriel spoke up at last as they turned a corner toward the school. "Suburbs are nothing compared to monster architecture, that's how _real_ homes are made."

"Eh," Sans shrugged as they arrived. "If every pork chop were perfect we wouldn't have hot dogs."

"What does that even _mean_?" Chara asked disgustedly.

"Pffft, I dunno. Probably means that I should stop watching late night cartoons. Have a good day at school, munchkins," Sans and Papyrus waved to Asriel and Frisk as they clambered out of the car. Chara made to follow, but Sans put up a hand to stop them.

"Whoa, whoa," Sans pointed a finger at them to reclaim their seat. "You're sticking with me for now."

"What?" Chara scowled, looking after the other two as they entered the school building. "Why? What did I do?"

"You're not _technically_ enrolled in school anyway," Sans shrugged again. "What exactly are you gonna tell them? That you're Frisk's long lost twin from another dimension or something? Because that's gotta be the cheesiest thing I've ever heard, nobody's gonna buy that chitzy crap."

"I hate to say it, but Sans actually has a point, tiny human..." Papyrus offered as they swerved out of the driveway, picking up speed and nearly colliding with an oncoming bus. "Humans tend to be very... _strict_ about rules."

"What would you know anything about that?" Chara's cheeks reddened as they cast one last stare back at the dwindling school building.

"Oh! I've learned a lot about human rules," Papyrus chatted amicably. "For example, did you know that going over the speed limit on those little painted signs is technically breaking human rules?"

"Gee how would anyone have ever guessed," they deadpanned.

"I know, right?" Papyrus chuckled. "But whenever the authorities catch up all they do is give you a little slip of paper. Clearly they need better instruction on how to handle these situations."

"... Paps," Sans started awkwardly, staring at his brother. "Are-are you saying you got a speeding ticket?"

"Oh, no," Papyrus laughed, and Sans let out a quiet breath of relief. "Nothing so easy as that. I got _far_ more than one."

"That's g- wait, what?"

Papyrus leaned over and opened the glovebox. The moment he did so, dozens and dozens of white papers flew out and dashed away into the wind, spraying the vehicle behind them and earning more than a fair share of words to fill up half the swear jar.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Man I love writing Papyrus. I really tried to keep everyone in character, though things are gonna get a little crazy in later chapters. Thanks again to all of the readers leaving comments to let me know how I'm doing, it really keeps me going. ^_^

More chapters are on the way!


	28. The Chat

0-0-0-0-0

"When is Mom coming home?" Chara asked for the fifth time, sitting curled up in one corner of the sofa.

"Whenever she decides to come back," Sans answered tiredly. Papyrus had already taken off for work a couple of hours previously (after a very lengthy discussion with Sans about speeding tickets) and had left Sans in charge of watching the child. Sans flipped through another channel on the screen, utterly unaffected by every advertisement. Papyrus had carefully prepared a meal for both of them consisting of large quantities of spaghetti, complete with microwave instructions.

Which was specifically why they ordered pizza instead.

"... I'm bored," Chara frowned.

"Me too," Sans shrugged.

"When is _my_ Sans coming back?"

"Whenever he decides to come back."

"You are the _worst_ person to try to talk to," Chara's frown deepened. "I mean, seriously. You can't just give me _one_ detailed answer?"

"Alright," he shrugged again without looking at her. "Toriel had better things to do than babysit a potentially dangerous child with serious unresolved split personality disorder and _your_ Sans is a lackadaisical lollygagging lumbering lumpheaded lazybones. How's _that_ for a detailed answer?"

"Bet you can't say that five times fast."

"You're on," Sans didn't even blink. "Lackadaisical lollygagging lumbering lumpheaded lacka- damn it," he chortled. "Kind of is a hard one to say."

They sat in silence for a little while, the quietly waving rustle of the television screen washing over them. Chara curled up with their blanket, face expressionless as they stared at the screen.

"... So is this just what you do every night?" Chara asked eventually.

"What, sit around and watch television?" Sans glanced over at them. "Nah. I always was more of a night owl anyway. Plenty of projects to keep me busy. You know, like the one that brought you n' other me here."

"Why bother?"

Sans blinked, looking fully at them for a moment.

"... What?" Chara stared at him. "What did I say?"

"What d'you mean by that, kid?" Sans asked quietly. "Why bother?"

"Well..." they started awkwardly, unused to the sudden stare. "I mean, there's no _point_ to anything, is there? It's all just going to be reset anyway, so what's the purpose?"

"How would you know-" Sans began before running a hand over his head. "Ah. Your version of Frisk."

"Could reset the timeline just like yours inevitably will, yes," Chara nodded, looking back to the television screen where a game show of people picking suitcases was playing. "And now my Frisk is angry."

"... Why?"

"They haven't been able to reset ever since I jumped dimensions with my Sans," Chara explained without looking at him. "Ever since I gained the strength to take over. So they're stuck in our head."

"I've been meaning to ask about that..." Sans crossed his legs together and rested them on the coffee table and folding his hands over his stomach, but Chara merely pulled the blankets tighter. "How exactly does that work, being two separate entities sharing a single body?"

Chara didn't answer for a long while. It was absolutely silent in the living room aside from the television, and for a bit Sans assumed that they simply weren't going to answer.

"It's... difficult," Chara said at last, earning an odd glance from him. "You wouldn't understand."

"Does your Sans understand?"

"Well, duh."

"Is that a duh yes or a duh no?"

" _Yes,_ " Chara rolled their eyes, the red irises flashing in the dim light. "He gets it."

"So there's a good chance that I will too..." Sans cocked a skeletal eyebrow at them. "Who knows, maybe it'll do ya some good talking about it."

"Who knows," Chara scowled. "Maybe I don't _like_ giving my whole life story."

"So give me the abridged version," Sans shrugged, looking back to the screen where a blond woman was cheering at winning a prize. "Or don't. Whatever. If you don't wanna talk about it, you don't have to talk about it."

"... That's it?" they blinked in mild surprise.

"Well, yeah," Sans gave a half shrug. "Won't do any good forcing you ta talk about things you don't wanna. Everybody's got things they'd rather keep to themselves. Some people, more than others."

"... _That_ was a bit cryptic."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Well, me neither."

They fell silent once again, both staring straight ahead.

"... So," Chara said after yet another bout of silence. "I can't help but notice that my brother is alive. So that's weird."

"Really?" Sans glanced down to them. "All of the things you could have said, and _that's_ what you picked?"

"So?" they scoffed. "What were you expecting?"

"I dunno," he shrugged yet again. "An explanation as to how you're alive after going through the void. How your mom recognized you literally the moment that she laid eyes on you. How this universe's Frisk doesn't seem to be possessed by the ghost of a dead child. But instead," he grinned down at them widely. "Instead, you're worried about your brother."

"What's so funny about that?" Chara glowered up at him.

"Nothing," he waved them off, looking back to the TV screen. "Just gives me a little hope is all."

Chara grumbled quietly, but didn't say anything else.

"And to answer your question, or statement actually," Sans started slowly. "Asriel did technically die in this timeline."

"So then _how_ is he alive now?"

"Alphys had a little project going on," he explained. "Where she would inject _determination_ into objects and observe the results. One of those objects just so happened to be a golden flower. When a monster dies, their dust is scattered over their favorite object so that their essence lives on in that object. And Asriel's dust-"

"Was spread on a flower?" Chara blinked.

"Bingo. So when it was injected with the _determination,_ Asriel came back. Sort of."

"... Flowey," they said after a moment.

"Right again."

"But that still doesn't explain-"

"Hang on, hang on," Sans ran a hand over his head. "I'm getting there, yeesh. Man you're impatient."

Chara only stuck out their tongue at him before rolling their hand through the air for him to continue.

"So," Sans continued at a slow pace, as if to deliberately antagonize them further. "After we all got out of the Underground, Frisk decided it would be a good idea to bring Flowey along with us. Second chances and all that," he shrugged with one shoulder, as if rolling some weight off of him. "Didn't take me long to figure out who the kid actually was. Just kinda surprised that his consciousness wound up in a flower, of all things. Long story short, Alphys made a prototype that could maintain both a monster's soul and consciousness simultaneously, but it had a few drawbacks."  
"Like what?" Chara asked quietly, completely immersed in his story. "How is that even possible?"

"Well," Sans steepled his fingers together. "It didn't, at first. We figured out that it would take more than simply transferring Asriel's consciousness from one thing to another. He needed something to bind his consciousness and body together. He needed... a soul."

"So..." they asked. "Now he has a soul?"

"He has _part_ of a soul," Sans corrected them. "I said it was a prototype for a reason. Alphys... constructed an artificial soul using a part of a complete soul. Like creating a brand new monster from scratch, except that it was molded to perfectly fit Asriel's new form."

"So where did the soul piece come from?"

Sans didn't reply, at first. Then he slowly pulled up his shirt, pointing to his missing rib. Chara's mouth dropped open when they finally caught on, staring as Sans pulled his shirt back down.

"... Oh my god."

"So, yeah," Sans shrugged coolly. "We used part of my soul to develop a new one for Asriel."

"That's... _wow,_ " Chara rubbed their eyes. "Did-didn't that hurt?"

"Oh," he nodded. "Oh yeah. Hurt like hell. Thought I was dying for a while there," he admitted. "Probably one of the most excruciating moments of my entire life."

"But why would you do that?" they pried. "Why not just use an easier part like from your arm or your hand?"  
"Because I don't want holes in my hands," Sans answered darkly, looking away from them for a moment. "And besides, it wasn't like anyone else was offering to give the kid a soul."

"So is that why Asriel was drinking that purple stuff?" Chara asked.

"Yeah. It's this gross gel that Alphys whipped up," he explained quietly. "Keeps his body from melting."

"He could _melt?!_ "

"Well, yeah," Sans shrugged without looking at them. "That's just what happens when you have a broken soul."

"But-but-but...!" Chara fumbled, pulling at their hair. "But if he m-melts...!"

"Take it easy, kid..." Sans shook his head slowly. "He's not gonna melt. He'll be fine, so long as he keeps drinking that concoction. He just has to wait a while for his body and soul to acclimate to each other is all. He'll be fine."

"How do you _know_?"

"Alphys and I have had some... _experience_ with the subject," he answered tersely. "Just trust me, kid. He's gonna be alright."

They fell silent once again. Chara sat numb and stiff, their eyes wide.

"... Jeez, kid, _breathe_ already," Sans gave an awkward laugh.

"You both say that a lot, without any reason to," Chara said after a moment. "'Just trust me'."

"We do?" Sans blinked. "Hmm. Haven't noticed. Speaking of lazybones," Sans checked the clock above the mantle. "Since he's still not back, wanna go with me to Grillby's to drag him home?"

"It's going to be like pulling teeth," Chara said with a frown. "So no thanks."

"Let me rephrase that," Sans said as he stood. "You're coming with me to Grillby's."

"What? Why?"

"Because _duh,_ " he shook his head, holding his hand out to them. "You're used to teleporting, right?"

"My Sans calls it jumping," Chara tentatively took his hand. "Because you jump from one place to another."

"Call it whatever you like," he shrugged for the millionth time. "Just make sure you've got a good grip."

And with a click of his fingers, they were gone.

0-0-0-0-0


	29. Sliver Of Doubt

0-0-0-0-0

Sans and Chara landed out of the teleport before the large oaken door labeled _Grillby's_ , and he clutched his chest wheezing the moment he let go of their hand. Chara looked back and forth between the pub and the coughing skeleton, uncertain.

"Just... just gimme a minute," Sans suddenly felt violently sick. He could feel a buzzing in his pocket from his new cellphone, but he brushed it away in favor of weakly holding open the door for the child. They nodded once to him and traipsed inside, and Sans let the warmth of the pub push the cold from his bones.

He could see the back of Void Sans's head not far away at one of the bar stools, and Sans quietly made his way toward him. Chara trailed a little behind him, but not so far away that they were out of his sight.

"... Hey," he clapped a hand onto his duplicate's shoulder.

"About time you showed up!" Void Sans beamed up at him, patting the seat beside him. "Ey, grab a seat and have a cold one; I was just talking to Grillby about you!"

"Funny," Sans said without moving an inch. He could see the redness in his doppelganger's face, and there was a small part of him that felt... regretful? "We were just talking about you."

"We?"

Void Sans blinked and looked around him to see Chara, looking away from him and staring off into the distance.

"Dude," Void Sans brushed his hand away. "Don't you know a bar isn't a good place to bring children?"

"Do you have any idea how long you've been here?" Sans asked quietly.

"Pffft, does it _matter?_ " he shrugged. "'s like I was just tellin' Grillby," he jabbed a thumb at the bartender, who was busy scrubbing a glass mug. "There's no point to it; everything is just gonna wind up getting reset anyways, so, what's the point in worrying?"

"Papyrus worries about you."

Sans promptly had to fight the urge to cringe. He knew it had been a low blow, using Papyrus's name like that, but the effect was immediate nonetheless. The Sans before him looked away and shook his head, frowning.

"... Come on," he pulled up on Void Sans from the armpit. "Let's get you home."

"Hands off," Void Sans shrugged him off. "I can go just fine by myself."

"Friends don't let friends teleport drunk," Sans pointed out. Void only stared at him for a beat before shrugging once again.

"Come on, man. Let's go home."

0-0-0-0-0

It was a long, cold walk back to the house.

Void's arm was draped lazily over Sans's shoulder as they shuffled along, stopping only a couple of times to allow his drunken counterpart ample time to retch into some poor couple's bushes. Chara watched the display in mild disgust, silently walking along with their arms crossed tightly over their chest. There was no moon out and the stars were hidden behind a blanket of thin fog, giving the night a somewhat foreboding feel as they traversed the dark patches between the lamplights.

It felt like forever getting everyone back to the house, as Sans did not answer when Chara asked why they didn't simply teleport. However, they finally reached their multistory home. Void Sans groaned quietly as Chara held the door open for them, mumbling that he would never ever drink again until next week. They carefully led him into the living room where he collapsed into the recliner, snoring away within moments. Sans blinked when he heard his cellphone buzzing once again. Reaching into his pocket he withdrew it and the dim glow lit up his skeletal face in the dark den, giving him a ghastly appearance. Chara visibly shuddered and looked away, merely drawing their arms further up into their sweater. To his surprise, the caller id belonged to Toriel, and he answered just as she was descending the stairs, phone pressed close to her ears.

"... Hi," he gave a weak wave to her as he answered the phone, slowly grinning. "You've reached the voicemail of an incredibly sexy skeleton, please leave a message after the beep."

Sans then made a long, quiet beeping noise, tucking the phone back into his pocket as Toriel snorted. She was holding one hand behind her back, which Sans silently noted.

"I was wondering where you all went to," she glanced over at the sleeping form of Void Sans, who was currently quietly snoring with one arm tucked behind his head. "I just got back a little bit ago."

"I could say the same. Sorry I didn't pick up by the way," Sans said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Kinda thought it was Paps again. We, uh, took a bit of a walk back. Tried to give lumpy here time to sober up."

"Wait, what?" Toriel blinked, looking back and forth between him and Chara. "You-you went out _drinking_?"

"Eh? Oh, no, nothing like that," Sans laughed. "I've been keeping an eye socket on the kids. "You, uh, hiding a present there, Tori?" he eyed the hand hidden behind her back.

Toriel slowly grinned.

"Well, I _suppose_ you could call it that..." she said with a smirk. "I've had the good doctor Alphys assisting me with my own little project." Toriel gradually pulled out her hand, showing Sans and the attempting to appear uninterested Chara what she had been hiding.

It was a simple black eye patch.

"... That's it?" Sans blinked. "Uh, Tori? I'm _pretty_ sure they sell those at convenience stores."

"Yes, but those are the ones that your brother _has_ been using," she nodded once, turning it over to reveal that it had an odd light emerald sheen to the back of it which almost seemed to glow in the dim light. "This, my dear Sans, is the culmination of scientific advancement and healing magic. I doubt that it will be vastly different for Papyrus than the eye patch that he's used to, but it should ease the pain of restoring that nasty crack and potentially reinvigorate his sight."

"Tori," Sans said breathlessly, staring up at her. "T-that's what you've been so busy with?"

She nodded once more.

"This is... wow," he ran a hand over his head, feeling a little dizzy. " _Wow_. Tori. That's... _incredible._ Do you have any idea how lucky he is to have you?"

"Why, Sans, you're such the flatterer."

"Hey, somebody's gotta remind you how great you are."

" _Blech,_ " Chara rolled their eyes. "Can you two get a room already?"

"Done and done," Sans grinned. Chara only stared at him for a brief moment.

"... What."

"Well, you didn't think that he slept on the couch _every_ night, did you my child?" Toriel pulled Sans into a tight hug by her side.

"... Oh," Chara suddenly looked as if they were going to be sick. "Oh god please no."

"Oh, yeah," Sans slowly smirked. "Good luck sleeping with _that_ on your mind. And please disregard any peculiar sounds that you may hear throughout the night, it's probably just the house."

" _Sans!_ " Toriel attempted to scold him, which was difficult through her stifled giggle.

"Oh my _god!_ " Chara clapped a hand over their ears, mortified. "That's my _mom_ you're talking about!"

"Try to get some rest, kiddo," Sans hid a laugh behind his hand, following Toriel up the stairs. "Got a big day ahead of us tomorrow."

Chara did not sleep well that night.

0-0-0-0-0

It was raining when Sans awoke.

He lay on his side, his back to Toriel as they lay beneath the warm downy blankets. Sans blinked away the strange dream he'd had; at the time it had seemed so terribly important that he remember something, but it was like trying to hold smoke. He listened to the quiet drumbeat of the rain on the bedroom window for a long while. Toriel's arm was still draped over him in an almost protective fashion, and he sincerely wished that he could simply lay there for a while longer. It was an internal struggle for the ages, fighting between simply going back to sleep or foolishly pulling himself from the warmth of bed. Eventually, however, Sans mustered the courage to roll gently out of bed so as not to wake Toriel from her slumber, sliding into a pair of slippers as he yawned and checked the time on his watch.

It was barely past five.

Sans groaned quietly and gave one last look to the sleeping monster in the bed before shaking his head with a small, almost sad smile before silently heading down the stairs. To his surprise, the flickering of the television screen reflected in the myriad of photographs in their glass frames, and he crept down to the living room. Chara was still sitting in the exact same spot that they had been in the night previously, legs pulled up beneath their sweater and arms tucked inside, giving them the odd appearance of a humanoid turtle. There was a small, almost plastic smile on their lips, and it seemed a little out of place for how exhausted they looked.

"... Morning, kid," Sans watched them jump slightly at the sound of his voice. "What'cha doin' up so early?"

"Oh. You know," they said without looking back at him, instead focusing on the weather forecast. "Couldn't sleep."

"... You never went to bed, did'ja."

"And?" Chara blinked, and he saw deep bags beneath their eyes. Sans quietly sighed and sat down beside them.

"Take it from a professional," Sans shook his head slowly. "Staying up for days on end is _not_ good for you."

"Couldn't sleep anyway," they shrugged halfheartedly. "Nigh- I mean, my Sans kept snoring."

Sans glanced between the unsurprisingly still snoring Void Sans and the miserable looking child.

"Uh..." he started awkwardly. "Tori _did_ tell you that the guest room is yours for now, right?"

"I don't like it in there," they replied instantly.

"And?"

" _And,_ " they finally stared up at him. "I don't _like_ the guest room. Too cold. Too dark. It reminds me of being in the in-between place again."

"The... in-between place."

"Or the Nothing, or the void, or _whatever_ you call it here," Chara rolled their eyes. "I just don't like it is all. Quit pushing the subject."

"Yeesh, alright, alright," Sans frowned and shook his head. "I mean, I get that it's not exactly the _best,_ but it's not _that_ bad."

"Besides," Chara said distractedly, watching the television. "I can't leave my Sans alone for too long."

"Is that right."

"Uh huh," they said without looking up. "Somebody's gotta keep an eye on him."

"Awfully responsible of you."

"I'm a well adjusted individual."

Sans snorted at that.

"... What?" Chara scowled. "What did I say?"

"Nothing, nothing," he laughed and shook his head. "Sit tight, kid. I'll make some coffee."

"Coffee is gross bean water for adults with no taste," they stuck out their tongue. "Do you have hot chocolate?"

"I mean, probably," Sans shrugged as he stood.

"Well, get on it then!" Chara clapped their hands together once. They froze however when they saw the cold look that Sans gave them. "I-I mean, um... p-please?"

"... Eh," Sans shrugged again, the look vanishing from his face. "Close enough.

It was still raining heavily by the time Sans had finished with the morning coffee, and he handed Chara a large, steaming mug of hot cocoa, complete with little marshmallows. They smiled quietly and gave him a rare thanks, savoring the scent before sipping contentedly at their drink. Sans watched the sweaty looking weatherman attempt to explain the sudden influx of rainstorms, almost nervously jabbing at multiple places on the weather map with little smiling storm clouds.

"... Sans?"

"Hm?" he hummed as he took a long, soft drought of his coffee.

"... When is the reset coming?"

Sans didn't answer at first.

"I've... got a few questions myself," he admitted after a moment. "Just out of curiosity, have you tried that reset thing of yours lately?"

"I can't," Chara looked down into their drink. "Ever since we jumped, I-I haven't been able to."

"I kinda figured as much. Just wondering."

"And I'm pretty sure that I know why..." they said without looking up. "It's your Frisk. This world's version of her, anyway."

Sans didn't answer at first.

"So I've been thinking," Chara continued when he remained silent. "If I really can't reset anymore, then something else must be interfering with my capability to do so. And it's not Asriel, I don't think, I've already asked him. It has to be your Frisk."

"Making some awfully dangerous assumptions there, kid," Sans said quietly.

"So when is it gonna be?" Chara finally glanced up at him. "When is the reset supposed to come?"

"Hopefully, never." Sans stuck one hand in his pocket, slight frown on his features.

"What, that's it?" Chara blinked. "Just... just _hope_ that it won't happen?"

"Frisk said that she's not gonna reset," he said firmly. "So there's not going to be any more resets."

"But how do you _know?_ " they pried, shifting in their seat. "How can you just _trust_ her that she won't reset everything?"

Sans, once more, was found with no immediate answer.

He took a seat silently next to Chara, one hand over his mouth and the other gripping his coffee mug tightly. He took in a deliberately long breath through his teeth, taking his time to answer.

"I..." he started at last, almost as if he were contemplating simply waving them off. "Kid, you want the truth?"

"Absolutely," they answered without hesitation, finishing off their cocoa.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"The entire reason that you and lumpy over there are even here? It's an accident. We were trying to bring back Gaster."

"... I-I think I've _heard_ that name before. Who is that?"

Sans frowned, staring down into his drink for a moment.

"... Gaster. Doctor W.D. Gaster. One of, if not _the_ most brilliant monster to have ever lived. He was the one monster with extensive research into stabilizing timelines."

"Meaning..."

"Meaning that he could ensure that there would be no more resets. Not ever again."

"Ahh," Chara steepled their fingers together. "I knew it. So you don't trust her, either."

"That's not what I said," Sans frowned.

"But it's what you _meant,_ " Chara gave him that same little plastic smile. "You trust her not to reset the timeline about as much as we do. Which is to say, not at all."

"I trust the kid plenty!" Sans felt a heat growing in his neck, uncertain of how exactly they were managing to get under his skin so well.

" _But..._ " Chara rolled their hand through the air.

"But," Sans admitted at last. "At least if Gaster were back, we could be absolutely sure."

"That's what I thought," they replied smugly, returning their gaze to the television screen.

Sans fumed silently, taking another slow drink of his coffee. It was difficult not to be rude with the child when they irritated him so much. What did they even know, anyway? The kid had to be roughly the same age as Frisk; hell, they even _looked_ like Frisk, aside from the bright red eyes. To insinuate that he had no trust for his friends and family was insulting.

And yet, at the back of his mind, there still nagged that tiny sliver of doubt.

He felt a buzzing in his pocket and stifled another yawn, pausing in the middle of it when he saw what the message on his phone was. Alphys usually didn't call this early unless it was important, and his heart sank as he read the message.

 _Need you here now. Had a problem with the phase distorter. Get here as fast as you can._

0-0-0-0-0


	30. Prone To Explosions

0-0-0-0-0

"Grab your coat."

Chara blinked in mild surprise at Sans's command. Toriel had already driven away through the rain with Asriel and Frisk to the school, and Papyrus was proudly sporting his new eye patch as he reclined at the kitchen table. They blinked again with a slight frown when Sans shut off the television spouting about the terrible weather, watching as Sans pulled on his own blue jacket. Void Sans was still snoring quietly in the recliner, pulled up into the fetal position with his face hidden in the cushion.

"Uh..." Chara started a little awkwardly as he switched out his house slippers for a pair of worn, dirty sneakers which he neglected to tie. "I don't actually, you know... own a coat. Or any clothes of my own, now that I think about it."

"You can wear one of Frisk's," he pointed a single finger up the stairs. "Upstairs, second room on the left, right side of the closet. Bright green rain jacket, can't miss it."

Chara nodded once in understanding and ascended the stairs and out of sight.

"Hey Paps," Sans stuck his head in through the kitchen doorway.

"Yes?" Papyrus stifled a yawn. The top button of his night guard uniform shirt was unbuttoned and his flat topped brown hat was hanging off the back of the chair. He shifted the new eye patch, staring at Sans with his good eye. "What is it, brother?"

"Can you remind me to grab some new digs for the kid?" he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.

"Of course," he nodded tiredly. "I'll just write it down for you."

Papyrus reached a couple of times for the magnetic notepad and pen sticking to the refrigerator door before giving up with an unsatisfied grunt.

"Oh no," Papyrus said in a deadpan expression. "I cannot reach the memo pad. Whatever am I to do."

"... You alright, Paps?" Sans blinked worriedly. "You're not usually so... snarky."

"Yes, yes," Papyrus held his back as he stood with a slight stoop, swiping the notepad from the refrigerator and beginning to write. "I apologize, brother. No need to worry, everything is under control."

"See," Sans crossed his arms. "It's when you say things like _that_ that really makes me nervous."

"We... had another break in last night..." Papyrus shifted uneasily back into his seat, passing Sans the slip of paper, which he promptly folded and tucked into his pocket. "It's been a little hectic at the museum is all."

"Jeez, _another_ one?" Sans frowned. "What is that, the third one this month?"

"Fourth, actually," Papyrus met his gaze. "Well, one of them just turned out to be a stray dog. No idea _how_ it got in without tripping the alarms, but that's not important."

"So what did they steal?"

"Hmm?" Papyrus blinked. "Oh, nothing was stolen. In fact, that's the strange thing; every time an exhibit has been broken in to, nothing has been taken at all. It's the strangest thing."

"You're telling me..." Sans rubbed his chin in thought.

Sans felt a light tugging at his sleeve, and he turned his head to see Chara in Frisk's bright green rain jacket with the hood pulled down over their eyes.

"Heading out?" Papyrus stifled another yawn. "In this terrible weather?"

"Yeah," Sans nodded once. "Just heading to see Alphys."

"Do give her my sincerest thanks," he beamed widely, despite his apparent exhaustion. "Really, this eye patch isn't nearly as itchy as the old ones."

"I'll tell her that it was much _eye_ preciated," Sans grinned. Papyrus only groaned and held a hand to his face.

"Slowly killing me," Papyrus clutched his chest. "Your terrible puns... slowly... draining the life from me..."

Papyrus's head dropped to the table with a _clunk_ , and Sans could have sworn that he heard Chara snicker.

"Oh, ha ha," Sans rolled his eyes. "Nobody acknowledges good humor."

"Can't hear you," Papyrus waved him off with one hand. "Your joke killed me. I'm dead. Bleh."

The small smile that had been on Chara's face suddenly vanished, which Sans quietly noted.

"We'll be back after a while, Broseidon," Sans slowly shook his head. "Maybe the rain will have died down on the walk back."

"You're walking all the way to Alphys's and Undyne's?" Papyrus pried one eye open for a spare moment. "Why?"

"Uh..." Sans tapped his fingers together awkwardly. "Well, you-you see, I, uh... well..."

"Keys are in the ignition," Papyrus answered without opening his eyes.

"Thanks, Paps," Sans said with a sigh. "You're the best."

"Don't mention it brother. But seriously though, if you get _one_ scratch on my baby..."

"I'll take good care of your 'baby'," he laughed, giving his brother a half salute. "And if I'm lying, may your car be struck by lightning."

"Not encouraging, Sans!" Papyrus shouted after them as they braved the pouring rain, quickly hopping into Papyrus's red convertible.

Sans gave the engine a couple of revs for good measure before peeling out of the driveway, nearly hitting, much to his surprise, a long black limousine. Sans groaned as he watched the limo slow to a crawl behind them, stopping directly in front of the house.

"... Who _is_ that?" Chara asked, buckling their seatbelt.

"Mettaton," Sans moaned miserably. "I do not have time for this today."

"Yoo-hoo!" they heard a slightly robotic voice calling them as a large black umbrella blossomed out from the back seat of the limousine, shielding the metallic body from the rain. "Sans, darling!"

" _Not_ today," Sans said with sudden determination, kicking the gear up a notch and throwing up rain behind them as they sped away. He pulled out his cellphone and promptly dialed Papyrus's number, pressing the phone tightly to the side of his head.

"Come on bro, pick up, pick up..." he muttered to himself. "... Oh, come on! Why does his voicemail say that he's 'at soup'? What does that even _mean?_ "

"Mettaton looks, um... _different_ from the last time I saw him..." Chara stared in the rear view window at the waving robot. "Shinier. More... um, legs."

"Looks the same to me," Sans said sourly without looking back, instead picking up speed and tearing through rain puddles as he grumpily stuffed his phone back in his pocket. "The less I have to deal with that guy today, the better."

"Do you not like his show or something?" Chara asked, feigning disinterest.

"His stupid show, his stupid voice, his stupid personality, his stupid face," Sans checked off his fingers as he drove. "Maybe it's just that he's dating my brother that irritates me."

"... Whut."

It was relatively quiet as they drove through the rain, windshield wipers working furiously to keep the convertible clear.

"... Why am I here again?" Chara asked at last, staring at him.

"Depends on what you mean," Sans shrugged. "I mean, that's a question that both monsters and humans have been trying to decipher for literally thousands of years-"

"No, no," Chara rolled their eyes. "I mean, why did you drag me along with you to Alphys's?"

"Because I didn't feel like trying to fight with lumpy back home," he explained quietly. "If he's not still drunk he's _definitely_ going to be hungover, and that means that he's not going to keep an eye on you."

"Why are you so paranoid?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sans answered in a deadpan. " _I'm_ not the one who decided that it was a good idea to run off up Mount Ebott."

Chara looked away out the window, holding their arms.

Sans rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, steering with one hand.

"... Sorry if the truth hurts, kid. But _somebody's_ gotta watch out for you."

"What do you even care?" Chara answered coldly without looking at him.

Sans blinked.

"Why _wouldn't_ I?"

"Are you even _listening_ to what you're saying?" they glared him in the eyes. "You don't _know_ me. You practically just _met_ me! You _don't_ know me, you don't _know_ what I am, the-the _things_ I've done-"

"And I don't care," Sans shrugged, earning an absolutely baffled stare from the child. "Look, kid. I get that you come from a pretty messed up place. Believe me, I know the feeling, more than you can imagine. But all that stuff that happened in your timeline can _stay_ in your timeline for all I care. You're in _my_ timeline now, and if you wanna _stay_ here, you play by _my_ rules. Because if you don't, you are _really_ gonna have a bad time. _Capiche_?"

Chara did not seem to have a ready answer to that. Sans rolled a hand through the air and they eventually swallowed dryly and nodded once, resuming their stare out the window.

It was absolutely silent the remaining entirety of the drive.

Sans pulled into the driveway in front of the multistory house, staring up at the odd lightning rods sticking up all over the roof. He hadn't noticed it before, but one of them had been bent to slightly resemble a metal fish. He snorted and shook his head, motioning for Chara to follow. Sans gave the door a couple of quick raps in rapid succession, stuffing his hands back into his pockets to ward off the chill. It was several long minutes of standing in the rain before Alphys finally answered the door.

"Sans!" Alphys yanked open the door for them, almost completely out of breath. Several black sooty marks covered her body, and there was a spot on her cheek that looked very sore and red. "Sorry, sorry! Come on in out of the rain, you're soaked!"

"Down to the bone," he grinned, allowing Chara entry first.

"Um... Sans?" Alphys shifted awkwardly, asking in poorly concealed voice as she closed the door behind them. "Why did you bring her?"

"Them," he corrected her. "I'm, uh, babysitting."

"Not a baby..." Chara grumbled, crossing their arms, but nobody seemed to hear.

"You alright, Al?" Sans shook his coat a little to clear the rainwater away. "What happened?"

"Well," she started awkwardly, leading them into the basement down the stairs. "I've been doing a little, er... _tinkering_ with the phase distorter, trying to find out exactly why and how we wound up with another version of you and Frisk-"

"Chara," Chara interrupted.

"And Chara," Alphys nodded without pausing. "And the phase distorter sort of, um... exploded."

"Yeah," Sans said as they reached the bottom of the stairs, taking in the absolute carnage in the basement. "It does tend to do that a little."

"A _little?_ " Chara stared at the destruction. There was shattered glass from exploded monitors everywhere, bits and scraps of torn steel embedded in the walls, and the single remaining bulb swung precariously overhead, casting long shadows over the laboratory.

"Looks like one hell of a cleanup job," Sans kicked a bit of torn scrap metal with his foot. "Damn... I knew we should have dismantled that thing. Just glad you weren't hurt too badly by the explosion."

"Oh, this?" Alphys pointed to her cheek. "Nah, this is just from putting out the fire."

"I take it Undyne's skipping out on helping with this?" Sans guessed. "Not really like her."

"Actually, Undyne is at the school."

Sans stared at her.

"... Why?"

"Uh, because she _teaches_ there?" Alphys met his stare. "She's a gym teacher."

"Heh. Never thought I'd see the day where Undyne teaches human kids."

"Sans...?" Alphys peered at him oddly. "She's been teaching there for nearly a _year._ Are-are you feeling alright?"

"Am _I_ alright? Al, you look like you lost a fight with a toaster."

Alphys blushed and tried wiping some of the soot from her face, only resulting in smearing it.

"So..." Chara stared at the wreckage. "Now what?"

"Well," Sans rolled his shoulders. "Now we put the phase distorter back together."

"Are you serious?" they balked at him. " _Rebuild_ the machine that is apparently prone to explosions?"

"I'm with F- I mean, Chara on this one," Alphys held up a claw. "Can we _not_ have something go horribly wrong for a little while first?"

Sans looked around at the still slightly smoking ruins of Alphys's laboratory, letting out a quiet sigh. Chara and Alphys stared at him for a few painfully long moments, awaiting his answer.

"... Yeah," he admitted defeat at last. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to wait a little while longer."

"Oh thank god," Alphys wiped her forehead, leaving a trail of soot over her eyes and giving her the impression of a large unibrow. "I can't begin to tell you how relieved I am to finally have that dreadful thing shut down for a bit."

"We can start the repairs... tomorrow?" Sans gauged Alphys's reaction, and her wriggling unibrow. "Next day? Fine, fine, next _week_ , yeesh."

"Well," Alphys put her hands on her hips, turning away to face the wreckage. "I guess for now we just have to focus on cleaning up the lab. Right, guys?"

By the time she turned around, they were already gone.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Thanks for reading! Hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far, please let me know if I missed any spelling errors or just how I'm doing in the comments. More chapters on the way! :D


	31. The Problem With Sanses

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A sparse few trickles of sunlight slipped in through the heavy clouds, muffled as it was by the steady downpour. Sans drove with one hand on the wheel, watching as the windshield wipers swished away seemingly endless rain. Chara sat with their arms crossed in the passenger seat, staring absentmindedly out of the window at the passing cars. He heard them let out a quiet sigh through their nostrils, and Sans glanced back over at them.

"... Somethin' the matter, kiddo?"

"Nothing," they replied flatly.

"I can _tell_ something's bothering you, you know," Sans said as they turned a corner, whipping up rain behind them. Chara gave him an odd look, and he chuckled. "What? Don't tell me you actually wanted to stick around for cleanup duty."

"Oh, no," Chara said without looking up. "Nobody holds it against you that you're incredibly lazy and duck out of situations which require assistance. From _friends._ "

As much as he tried not to, Sans cringed.

"And besides," Chara continued as if they hadn't seen the clearly uncomfortable expression on Sans's face. "I wanted to wait until Undyne came back."

"Undyne teaches gym at the school, remember?" Sans said conversationally as a couple of cars passed them, throwing water up on the windshield.

"Well, then I want to be enrolled in school!" Chara frowned, pulling at the sleeves of their sweater.

"What, just to see Undyne?"

"Shut up," they rolled their eyes. "Undyne is super cool. You just wouldn't get it."

"Uh huh," Sans said in an unconvinced tone. "I have no idea just what Undyne's 'coolness' level would be, but I'm pretty sure it's, like, over nine thousand."

Chara slowly turned to stare at him.

"... What?" he blinked.

"Can we just go home now?" Chara asked sourly, looking away. "I can't stand all this rain."

"It's not so bad," Sans shrugged. "Kinda reminds me of waterfall, but with less moss. The sunlight is a pleasant touch though. It's... nice."

"It's cold and wet," they responded without missing a beat. "There's nothing 'pleasant' about it. Let's just go home already."

"Do you really not want to be out and about that badly today?" Sans turned his head slightly to look at them. They had their legs pulled up beneath their sweatshirt, giving them the odd resemblance of a humanoid turtle with hair.

"I just want to check on Sans."

"I'm right here."

"I _meant_ -"

"Yeesh, bud, I was kidding," he forced a small laugh. "Man, your sense of humor really needs bandaging. Why do you need to check up on lazybones, anyway?"

"He's... he's not..." Chara began awkwardly, looking away from him again and instead opting to stare out at the multitude of puddles and miniature ponds that had sprouted up from the immense rains.

Sans waited for nearly a minute, driving in complete silence for a little while longer before pressing them. Chara only stared out the window and watched the rain pouring down the glass.

"Not what?"

Chara jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, almost as if they had forgotten that he was even there in the first place.

"He's... he's just-just not, you know..." Chara shrugged, trying to avoid his gaze. "He's not good by himself."

"I'm sure that he can handle being alone for a _little_ while," Sans attempted to reassure them. "He's a big skeleton, he's plenty capable of taking care of himself."

"Really?" Chara finally looked up at him, and he noticed that their eyes seemed almost... mournful.

"I mean... Yeah, of course," Sans nodded firmly. "He's another version of me, right? I'm _pretty_ sure he's got a mostly level head."

"... Well," Chara finally turned away and rubbed their eyes. "You've both got that in common at least."

"What's that?"

"That's the problem with you Sanses. You're both _utterly_ overconfident. And you're both excessively weird," they counted off on their fingers. "And you both just run away when people need you the most."

The car jerked suddenly, but Sans realigned the wheels.

"What makes you say something like that?" Sans frowned.

"Have you _heard_ yourself talk?" Chara scoffed. "I mean, seriously, you two have the _biggest_ egos-"

"No, no, not that," Sans shook his head. "Why would you say that we run away from our problems? We don't do that. I totally deny that I do that. _Void_ Sans might, but I don't."

"Oh, please," they rolled their eyes. "If you're anything at all like my Sans, which you are, and you're as predictable as he is, which you also are, then you're just as likely to run off just like he tends to. Which you will."

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, we can turn around and go help out Al at the lab-"

"Like that'll make much of a difference!" Chara snorted. "You can treat the symptom but you'll never cure the disease."

"I really, _really_ don't like it when you get cryptic on me, kid."

"Do I seriously have to spell it out for you?" Chara deadpanned.

"Christ on a pogo stick," Sans pinched the spot between his eyes with his free hand. "Just _what_ did Void do to make you so angry at Sanses? What could he have possibly-"

"He _ran_ ," Chara said quietly, and it was then that Sans realized that it was probably the first time that he had seen actual, genuine regret on their face. _Frisk's_ face. That just made it all the more surreal.

"From...?" Sans pressed the issue, although there was a small part of his brain screaming that it was an awful idea. Unfortunately, Sans had never listened much to that section of his mind.

"He ran from _us_ ," Chara crossed their arms again, staring down at the floorboard. "From-from me. Before I-I gained control. He ran when I hurt Papyrus."

Sans hadn't realized just how deathly quiet it had grown in the car. The drumming of the rain seemed far too loud, and Sans noticed that he hadn't been breathing properly for several minutes.

"He ran when I hurt so many monsters," Chara continued, red eyes wide. "He ran when I hurt Undyne. He could have stopped us right at the beginning, and he didn't. He just... ran. Like it would all go away if he could just run forever."

Sans let out a noiseless, shaky breath, uncertain of how to respond to the serial murderer from literally another world. The small quiet voice in the back of his head had gone utterly silent as he processed the information with as calm a demeanor as he possibly could. When he stole a glance back at the child, the usual plastic smile that they wore was gone, replaced with what he could only assume was that of pure, unfiltered misery.

"You'll run away, too..." Chara said after a long, long time of quiet. "It's the smart thing to do."

0-0-0-0-0

"Alright, punks!" Undyne shouted over the sound of chattering children and squeaking sneakers, easily making herself heard despite the noise. She wore a pair of light blue shorts and a white tank top with _20 percent cooler than rainbows_ in bold letters on the back. She whipped a hand through her flowing red hair, grinning at the children."Pick your favorite body part to lose and line up, 'cause today I'm gonna teach you about something awesome!"

One of the children to Frisk's left raised his hand as they lined up facing Undyne.

"Yeah, what is it?" Undyne stared with an almost animalistic (and frankly terrifying) glower at the human.

"Um... shouldn't we have fifteen minutes to change into gym clothes?"

"Gym clothes?" Undyne scoffed. "Why would you need fifteen minutes to change _clothes_? Attackers won't give you fifteen _seconds_ if you're caught off guard!"

"But-but-"

"But, but," Undyne flapped her hand mockingly. "Bleh. Step up your game, kids."

"Uh, Un- I mean, Miss Undyne?" Asriel slowly raised his hand.

"Yeah?" Undyne put her hands on her hips.

"Aren't we supposed to be playing dodge ball today?"

"Glad you brought it up..." Undyne grinned with a sharkish demeanor, clapping her hands together.

"So..." Asriel looked around to see if perhaps one of the other human or monster children had taken the equipment. "Where are the dodge balls at?"

"Excellent question!" her grin only grew wider. "The answer is _screw the dodge balls._ "

"But-but-" Asriel started.

"But, but," Undyne flapped her hand mockingly. Again. "There were some, uh... _cutbacks_ in the school's budget. So now we have no dodge balls."

The entire gymnasium was filled with the groans of dissatisfied children.

"Aw, don't go whinging on me now!" Undyne scoffed. "I _have_ a plan B."

"So..." Frisk looked around curiously, a creeping sensation of dread lingering on the back of her neck as Undyne's grin slowly returned. "What exactly _is_ plan B...?"

"You're all pretty good at dodge ball, right...?" Undyne smirked, crossing her arms. "Well, if you can dodge a dodge ball..."

Frisk followed her instincts and ducked a split second before a glowing blue spear comprised entirely out of energy parted her hair as it slammed into the wall behind them, splintering the stone.

"You can dodge a _spear._ "

The entire gym broke out in screams of panic as multiple spears began roaring overhead, the sounds of chaos only further cluttered by Undyne's maniacal laughter. Only Frisk stood in place, with Asriel cowering slightly behind her. A terrible wind was whipping up from the storm outside, blowing throughout the gymnasium as children both human and monster scattered for their lives.

"... You, uh, gonna run now?" Undyne stared at Frisk.

"Meh," Frisk tilted her hand back and forth. "After the first dozen times somebody throws spears at you it gets a little tame."

"Oh _ho!_ " Undyne laughed loudly, brushing the hair from her face and materializing a spear out of blue magic in one hand simultaneously. "Big talk coming from a little kid."

"Little talk coming from a big fish," Frisk snorted.

"Frisk!" Asriel pulled back at her shirt. "Don't antagonize her, we'll get skewered!"

"You wanna go right now, punk?" Undyne's shark like grin returned. She pulled another magical spear from thin air and tossed it to Frisk, who caught it deftly in both hands, gauging the weight.

"No she doesn't!" Asriel called out from his position behind Frisk.

"Yeah, alright," Frisk shrugged unenthusiastically.

Undyne prepared to strike, her spear raised high over her head. The wind was howling throughout the area, school children's papers flying about in the air. Undyne swung downward mightily, spear striking true... and pausing just an inch from Frisk's head.

"... Are you serious?" Undyne slowly lowered her spear, noting Frisk's odd expression.

"What?" Frisk stared up at her.

"That's it?" she balked. "I could have killed you, like, three times over already!"

"Sorry," Frisk shuffled her feet awkwardly, looking downward.

"I mean, you didn't even put up a _fight_ this time..." Undyne frowned, staring back at her and eventually eyeing Asriel, who shifted uncomfortably from behind Frisk.

"I guess I'm just not feeling very well today," she rubbed one of her forearms.

"Alright, plan B."

"I thought we were already on plan B?" Asriel quipped.

"Fine, plan three! Or, plan C... _whatever_ we're on now," Undyne pinched the bridge of her nose. "Asriel, get Frisk to the nurse's office and make sure that whatever she has isn't some super contagious deadly disease or something."

"Aye aye, captain!" Asriel gave a two fingered salute before promptly pulling Frisk away.

" _Ex_ capta- ah, forget it," she called after them. She looked around at the destruction of the now empty gymnasium, her frown returning.

"Great," she said to nobody in particular. "Nobody got speared this time. Little punks are learning fast," Undyne sniffed. "I'm... kinda proud."

Undyne paused in confusion, reaching for the buzzing phone in her pocket. Surprisingly, it was none other than Papyrus sending a message, and she swiped the screen a couple of times to see it.

 _Greetings, Undyne!_

 _Sorry to bother you while you're busy, but we've sort of got a problem._

Undyne was quick to reply.

 _Is there ever a day without a problem?_

 _Very observant of you! However, I believe that this particular issue may be something that you may want to resolve yourself. Alphys is hurt and seems to be having some difficulty with Sans-_

She didn't even bother to read the rest of the message before she was already out the door and into the pounding rain, spouting a number of expletives about Sans that most certainly should not have been repeated in front of several children.

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	32. I Want To Believe

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Sans sat with his fingers steepled in his lap, his eyes closed as he breathed slowly. He was completely and utterly numb to all the world, colors dancing behind his eyes. To any outsiders it would appear that he was simply asleep, as he was prone to do on multiple occasions, but on this particular instance his mind was a battlefield of rampaging thoughts.

 _Can't keep running forever-_

 _What if something happens-?_

 _There's no escaping your own timeline-_

 _Maybe if I could just get through to him-_

 _The relapse is inevitable, just like the reset-_

 _What would I tell Tori-_

 _What if one of them gets hurt because of me-?_

 _Done the impossible before, we can do it again-_

 _There is no escape-_

 _The mind is both the final sanctuary and most terrible prison one can be locked in-_

"Excuse me?"

Sans blinked out of his stupor, glancing up from his chair. He had nearly fallen asleep in front of the changing rooms at the department store, and he resisted the urge to rub his eyes as he stared up at the woman with a bag over her arm. She had auburn locks and piercing black eyes with a small pointed nose and lightly applied makeup that looked as if it had been done in a hurry. The woman's child (who unsurprisingly looked like a smaller version of her) meandered lazily into one of the changing stalls, giving Sans a dirty look before she did.

"What's up?" Sans asked, not moving at all.

"I just asked if this seat was taken is all," the woman gestured to the only empty seat beside him.

"Oh, go ahead," he shrugged with one shoulder and she plopped down into the seat with relief, dropping her bags beside her.

"Are you waiting on someone as well?" the auburn haired woman asked him, nodding to the other changing stall.

"Yeah." Sans nodded once, forcing his mind to clear itself. "Just waiting on my kid."

"Oh!" her eyes widened a little. "So you're a parent."

"Worst job to have if you ask me," Sans grinned at her. "The benefits are alright but the pay is just _terrible._ "

Much to his surprise the woman snorted slightly, covering her mouth.

"You look familiar," Sans held out a hand for her to shake, which she took very gingerly, almost as if it were a bony white snake that might bite her if she moved too quickly. "Have we met before?"

"No, I don't believe so," she quietly took a wet wipe from her purse and ferociously scrubbed her hands with it before tossing it back into her purse. "I think I'd remember talking to a skeleton."

"That's too bad," he shrugged again. "Because I'm terrible at introductions. Name's Sans, by the way."

"Danielle," the woman nodded to him with a small smile. "I'm sorry to ask, I don't mean to be, um... _racist_ or anything like that, but... you said you're a parent, right?"

"I was since the last time I checked," Sans blinked, uncertain of where she was going with her question. "How is that racist?"

"I mean-" Danielle said awkwardly, shifting her purse in her lap. "- You're a skeleton. How can you even _have_ children?"

"We, uh, sort of adopted," Sans shrugged. Danielle's mouth formed a slight 'o' in understanding, and she nodded again.

"Right, right, of course," she said sheepishly. Sans's head turned when he heard the sound of the changing room door unlocking, and he nodded in Chara's direction as he stood. Chara held a small bundle of clothes in their arms, still wearing the faded pants and sweater that they had before.

"And that'd be my kid," Sans held out a hand to shake hers again, grinning. "Nice to meet'cha, Miss D- uh, you alright there?"

Danielle was staring at Chara with her mouth hanging slightly open, her brows furrowed.

" _That's_ not right!"

"... Excuse me?"

"I mean," Danielle's brows creased tightly. "You're a _monster_ ; why do have a _human_ child? She's not even a monster!"

"Right," Sans crossed his arms. "Right, so, first of all, _what?_ "

"Well," Danielle pushed a lock of her hair from her face, clearly upset. "You're a _monster_. I mean, it would be at least understandable if you had a _monster_ child instead of _her_ , but she's clearly _human_."

"Which brings up number _two,_ " Sans held up two fingers. "They prefer they, not her. Rounding back to number one for a minute, exactly _what_ is so terrible about them being human?"

"Well, a monster can't have a _human_ child," she said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's just not-not _ethical._ "

"Not ethical," Sans repeated numbly. "Not _ethical._ "

"Sans," Chara pulled at his hand, drawing him away. "Come on, let's go home."

"Give me a minute," he looked to them briefly. "I'm gonna give this bitch a _piece of my mind-_ "

"Please?"

Sans froze, glancing back to Chara. They looked... nervous, surprisingly. Sans gave the woman a solid firm stare before finally shaking his head and allowing Chara to pull him away. They walked in silence for a little while, Chara simply carrying the bundle of clothing.

"Sorry I kinda lost my cool there for a second," Sans rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I just have an extremely low propensity for bullshit."

"That's just humans for you," Chara said expressionlessly.

"What do you mean by that, kid?"

"I mean exactly what I said," they frowned. "Humans are absolutely disgusting creatures. Ignorant, biased, incompetent and greedy, every single last one of them."

"Uh, kid...?" Sans raised a finger questioningly. "You do realize that _you're_ a human too, right?"

Chara didn't seem to have a response ready for that.

They checked out their items in silence and Sans paid for it all with a small black card with no visible information on it, which Chara found both peculiar and slightly suspicious. However, they simply tucked the information away for later. The rain had finally stopped and the sun was shining through, a slight mugginess in the air lingering from the passing storm. Sans stopped to stretch his arms behind his head, taking in a long, deep breath and sighing before continuing.

"... Why do you do that?" Chara asked, carrying the bags of their new clothes.

"Do what?"

"That stretching thing," Chara stared at him as they walked down the parking lot. "You and my Sans seem to do that a lot."

"Just gotta appreciate the weather above ground every once in a while," he shrugged as he popped open the car door for them. "Nothing wrong with that."

Chara grumbled incomprehensibly as they buckled in their seat belt, and Sans paused as he entered the car, staring at his cell phone screen.

"... _Now_ what?" Chara asked flatly. "Papyrus got his head stuck in a jar?"

Sans's head ever so slowly turned in their direction, and Chara noted that one of his eyes was glowing a bright periwinkle.

"Firstly," he said without raising his voice whatsoever. "Don't you ever speak lightly of my brother in front of me again. Capiche?"

Chara nodded, slightly stunned. The look was gone from his face the next moment however, and he simply looked... tired.

"Well," he shrugged as he tucked the phone back into his pockets, revving the car engine. "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, you're gonna get to see Undyne today."

Chara perked up at this.

"What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is, we're gonna see Undyne today."

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"Sans!" Alphys shouted over the maelstrom of flying equipment, all encompassed in a vibrant periwinkle glow. "Sans, you've got to stop this!"

A whirling chunk of metal easily the size of a car door flew directly toward her, and Alphys shrieked and ducked the debris. It was swiftly kicked aside by Undyne, who brought her foot down with a heavy _whoom_ and smashed the metal plate to the ground. However, it gradually began to rise again, joining its brothers in the tornado surrounding the crouching skeleton.

"Come on, Alphys!" Undyne screamed over the sound of the raging whirlwind. "We've got to get out of here, now!"

"Not without Sans!" Alphys resisted her pull, struggling to stand her ground. "We've got to get him out of there!"

"He can take care of himself-" Undyne pulled harder, but the doctor's will was stronger than she expected. "- Come on, Al! We need to get out before that damned skeleton pulls the whole place down!"

"Somebody mention a damned skeleton?"

Alphys and Undyne's heads jerked in the direction of the noise, shocked to see another Sans standing with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"Sans," Alphys pried herself away from Undyne's grip, nearly getting hit by another flying bit of metal. Sans quietly noted that both she and Undyne were cut and bleeding in several places. Unsurprisingly, there were quite a number of glowing blue spears flying around the whirlwind as well, some clearly broken and still seeking a target. "Void broke in! He was ranting about the phase distorter and just-just went berserk...!"

"So I noticed," he said quietly, but was somehow able to make himself heard over the sound of the whirlwind. "Give me a minute with him, a'ight?"

"You have sixty seconds," Undyne pulled Alphys closer and toward the stairs, away from the tornado of debris. Sans nodded grimly and faced the twirling cloud of destruction, face stony. "After that, I'm going to freakin' _murder_ him until he dies!"

He reached deep for the magic, and for several painfully long moments, nothing happened. He closed his eyes and pushed deeper, determined to find something, anything, any little scrap of power that he could. Finally, at long last, he could feel the magic tingling in his bones, and he summoned a short burst of blue magic to tear a hole in the whirlwind. The tornado parted in a small section, allowing him just enough room to squeeze through, although he had to suck in his gut to press all the way through. He found Void Sans curled into the fetal position in the eye of the storm, his eyes squeezed shut. Sans gently knelt beside him, and could easily smell the strong scent of alcohol on him.

"... Hey there, buddy."

Void Sans's eyes blearily blinked open, both glowing bright blue as he stared at his counterpart.

"... The machine," he croaked dryly. "Got to... shut it down...!"

"Pretty sure that's already accomplished, man," Sans patted him on the shoulder twice, glancing about at the utterly demolished laboratory. "And you, my friend, are drunk off your _ass_."

"You don't understand," Void slurred as Sans propped him up into a sitting position. He could feel the whirlwind around him lessening the more distracted Void became, and Sans continued to hold his gaze as the blue in his eyes slowly faded away. "The resets... it's not gonna stop, it's never gonna end...!"

"Yeah, it is," Sans slowly helped his doppelganger stand. The whirlwind had almost completely died down by this point, all of the heaviest bits of machinery sluggishly falling to the floor. "No more resets, bud."

"It's not gonna end," Void's voice cracked, and he leaned heavily on Sans's shoulder. "We're just gonna wake up in Snowdin and none of this will matter-"

"It's _over_ ," Sans forced him to look him in the eyes. "Listen to me. There aren't going to be any more resets, okay?"

"It's not okay," Void sobbed dryly, almost falling to the floor. "It's not _okay_ -"

"... Sans?"

Void and Sans blinked at the sound of Chara's voice. They were standing at the bottom of the stairs, their arms crossed tightly as they stared at the carnage of the basement.

"If you aren't gonna take it from me," Sans motioned for Chara to draw closer, which they did with trepidation. "Take it from someone else. Tell 'em, kid. Tell him there aren't going to be any more resets."

Chara looked back and forth between the well kempt Sans and their utterly miserable one, chewing their bottom lip for a spare moment. They looked as if they were in the middle of a monumental struggle for a few moments before sluggishly moving, like the air were water and they fought for every step.

"... It's going to be okay," Chara hugged Void after a painfully long few moments. "There aren't going to be any more resets."

"... Okay, kid," Void hugged them back limply. "Okay. I want to believe you, kid. God help me I really do."

They stood like that for several long moments before Undyne poked her head down the stairs, staring at them.

"... It's been more than sixty seconds, Sans."

Sans responded by giving her an extremely rude hand gesture.

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A/N

Hey all, thanks for reading! If you liked the story, please let me know how I'm doing! :D


	33. Newfound Determination

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"Is he gonna be okay?"

Sans sighed for the umpteenth time, frown etched onto his face.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," he reassured Chara once again. "Just give him some time to sober up."

"Stupid Sans," Chara rubbed their nose, plopping onto Alphys's bright blue couch. Void Sans lay in one of Alphys's living room recliners with his feet up, softly snoring away as if he had never even left the spot at all. "Stupid, stupid Sans."

"Some Sanses have pretty thick skulls," Sans gently sat down beside them. Alphys's living room was cluttered with 'figurines' and memorabilia from many, many different anime, and there were glittery stickers all around the quite large wall-hanging television set. "Some, more than others."

"What about Undyne?" Chara asked quietly as Sans flipped the television switch on the remote, watching it buzz and crackle to life.

"Undyne and Alphys are gonna be fine, too," he said without much conviction. "Just got a few scrapes is all. Come on, kid. Undyne is, like, the toughest person ever."

"I know, I know..." Chara wrapped their arms around themselves, staring down at the floor. "I just... I _hate_ it when he does this."

Sans's frown deepened and he glanced down to the child, trying not to let his worry show.

"What'cha mean by that, kid?"

"He does this stupid stuff _all_ the time," Chara scowled. "He's been doing it ever since I took over. He leaves for a stupid amount of time, gets stupid drunk, and does something stupid."

"I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something here."

"I'm telling you that he's _stupid,_ " Chara sniffed again. "I don't know _how_ you're supposed to be another version of him."

"I like to think that I'm super mature," Sans belched.

"... Yeah, go ahead and think that."

"Don't get salty with me, kid," Sans cocked an eyebrow, handing them the remote. "Just keep an eye on lumpy here for me. I'm gonna go help Alphys and Undyne with damage control."

"Why can't I come?" Chara frowned as he stood to leave to the basement.

"I just told you why," he responded flatly. "Somebody's gotta keep watch on Void Sans over there. You know, in case he tries something _stupid."_

Chara crossed their arms haughtily but eventually nodded and reclaimed their seat on the sofa. Sans slowly shook his head and descended to the laboratory, kicking away a small scrap of metal as he did so.

"God," he muttered to himself as he treaded down the stairs. "He really did a number down here."

"You're telling me," Undyne sat in a wheeled chair with one of the wheels missing. Alphys was preoccupied with attempting to slowly heal her cuts with green magic, and Sans cringed. Undyne had definitely received the brunt of the miniature tornado, and he empathized with her. It wasn't the first time that he'd been in an out of control magical whirlwind, and getting hit by debris definitely wasn't fun. Sans nodded to Alphys as he approached, and she spared a second to glance up at him with a small nod of her own before returning to her task.

"Come on, Al," Undyne tried to sit up again, only to be forced back down by Alphys. "I'm fine, I swear."

"Fine my yellow _ass,_ " Alphys pushed her down by the shoulders back into the chair, resuming the slightly sickly green glow from the tips of her fingers to trail over Undyne's wounds. "You are hurt, you are hurt in _multiple_ places, and you are going to _sit still_ until I'm finished making sure that you're okay. If you don't let me heal you properly it could result in permanent scarring, so you don't move until I _tell_ you to move."

"Alright, alright..." Undyne sheepishly sat back down, rubbing the back of her neck. "You're kinda scary when you're forceful, Al. Sexy, even."

Alphys stumbled on nothing and the green light beneath her hands went out for a moment. Undyne just laughed and held her hand for a few seconds, grinning up at her. Alphys couldn't help but softly smile back, her other hand still on Undyne's bare shoulder.

"... You two gonna be alright?" Sans asked after a moment to themselves.

"Yeah, we're... we're good," Undyne stood, dusting herself. "Thanks, Al."

"Don't mention it," she pushed her glasses up her nose.

"Man," Sans ran a hand over his head, staring at the clumps of debris. "And I thought the lab looked bad before."

"Nothing we can't handle if we put our minds to it," Alphys nodded determinedly.

"Huh," Sans glanced over at her. "You are just full of spunk today. Something spur that on?"

"Well," Alphys tapped her claws together, awkward beneath his scrutinizing gaze. "Almost _dying_ tends to have that effect on monsters. Really puts things in perspective."

"So we've got a task then," Sans stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and clenched his fists, closing his eyes and letting the newfound determination flow through him. "We're getting back on track, and one way or another, no matter what it takes... and so help me god, we're finding Gaster."

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	34. Everyone Needs A Sick Day

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"Not a chance in _hell!_ "

"I'm sorry, what?" Sans blinked, staring at Alphys. She seemed to be almost just as surprised that she'd said it, and even Undyne appeared uncertain.

"Sans..." Alphys began, tapping her claws together. "Sans, we-we tried that before, remember-?"  
"And we're close," Sans pleaded, drawing nearer. "Al, we-we are so, _so_ close, I can just _feel_ it...!"

"Sans, _listen_ to yourself!" Alphys insisted. "Have you lost your _mind?_ How do you think we can even pull it off?"

"Have you _seen_ what we're capable of yet?" Sans threw a hand wildly back at the stairs. "We've brought children back from the _dead!_ We've broken the laws of space, and time, and gotten away with a slap on the wrist!" he grabbed her wrists as he said it, drawing her towards him. "Alphys, this is our _chance...!"_

He was cut off by Undyne's strong grip, lifting him away from Alphys and straight up off of the ground.

"I'm giving you this one warning, and one warning only..." Undyne said dangerously. "Put your hands on my girl again, and I will _break_ you, little man. Got that?"

"Alright, alright, yeesh," Sans backed away as she dropped him, clutching the left side of his chest and wheezing. "Sorry, sorry-"

"S-Sans...?" Alphys started uncomfortably.

"Yeah, Al," Sans stared down at the floor, rubbing his sore wrist from where Undyne had yanked him.

"Um, not-not to _pry_ or anything," she said awkwardly. "But, um... I've noticed that you've been breathing kind of funny."

" _That's_ what we're focusing on," Sans said in mild disbelief. "Oh, okay, okay. No, it's fine. Let's just completely skip the part where we _save Gaster._ "

"Sans, I-I'm sorry..." Alphys tapped her claws together again, her head down. "I just can't... Gaster wasn't exactly the _best_ person, you-you know...?"

"... Oh, Alphys," Sans held out his hands in desperation, careful not to draw too close lest he invoke Undyne's wrath.

"I really am sorry," she said without looking at him, readjusting her glasses. "But I just can't do this."

"If we could just _find_ him-"

"I almost _lost_ Undyne!"

Sans froze in place, and to his surprise, so did Undyne.

"We could have been _killed,_ Sans!" Alphys blurted as if she'd been waiting a very, very long time to let it out. "I-I alm-most lost you, Undyne was _hurt,_ we-we just _can't..."_ she took in a sharp breath, her hand shaking. "I'm sorry, Sans. But there is just no way we're going to keep a broken phase distorter in our basement. I want it out of my lab. I want it out of my _house._ I-I'm sorry. _"_

Sans slowly, quietly stuck his hands in his pockets, feeling for the old glasses. He gripped them loosely in his fist, taking in a long, slow breath through his teeth as he closed his eyes.

"... Okay," he said at last. "Okay. I'll... figure out something."

He didn't wait around for them to respond before clicking his fingers, leaving behind nothing but a burst of air.

0-0-0-0-0

"I'm gonna need a cold one, Grillby," Sans said quietly and out of breath as he shuffled up to the bar before dropping to one of the stools. "And keep 'em comin'."

"... Sans," Grillby passed him a brown bottle from behind the counter, flicking the cap off with one hand without even looking down. "You know I don't usually ask, but why do you look like you just lost a fight with a wood chipper?"

"Oh, you know," Sans cupped the bottle in his hands, glancing about the crowded bar. "Normal day. Went shopping. Met an average bigoted soccer mom. Stopped a miniature typhoon that nearly killed my friends. Nothing out of the usual."

Grillby grunted.

"... Not even gonna ask?"

"I'm far too jaded by this point," Grillby said from behind his square glasses, his fiery eyes gleaming a little in the light. "Besides, I've known you for long enough to know that I don't have to ask. I just have to wait and keep handing you drinks."

"You're a clever monster, Grillbz," Sans nodded sagely as he finished off the bottle.

"So I'm told," he answered dryly, passing him another bottle.

"Man," Sans rubbed his eyes suddenly. "I don't even know where to begin."

"How about the beginning?"

"Well, see, it all started with the big bang, m'kay-"

"Ha, ha, and also ha," he couldn't tell if Grillby was frowning or not. It was difficult to tell with the flames.

"I guess..." Sans rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, suddenly feeling as if he were a specimen beneath a microscope. "Man, today has just been a total crapshoot from start to finish."

"How so?"

"Where do I _begin?_ " Sans let out a breath through his teeth. "I'm stuck constantly worrying, watching over a potential serial killer, who I'm pretty sure is _ten_ by the way; I'm pretty sure that giving up part of my _soul_ to effectively bring a dead kid back to life is beginning to have some seriously negative repercussions on me, I'm pretty sure that one of my best friends now thinks I'm deranged, and I just remembered that now is a terrible time to get drunk because Tori wants me to show up for the PTA meeting tomorrow and the hangover is going to be absolute hell."

Grillby let out a low whistle.

"Sounds like a tall order," he continued scrubbing at the counter, which he had been doing the entire time Sans had been speaking. The skeleton wiped a bead of sweat from his brow with the arm of his jacket, as if just the act of letting out all of his frustrations had worn on him.

"Speaking of tall order," Sans finished off his bottle. "I'm gonna need another tall one. Or five."

"Naturally, you've got the coin to back up your mouth this time."

"U-uh, oh," Sans feverishly patted his pockets. "I-I, uh, heh, must have left my wallet at home..."

Grillby only sighed and slowly shook his head.

"... I'll put it on your tab," Grillby said eventually.

"Thanks for listening Grillbz," Sans grinned at him weakly as he stood. "Seriously, I owe you one."

"Or five," Grillby gave a small smile back at him. Sans only chuckled and shook his head, and headed out the door. Grillby let out a little sigh and cleared the counter to a spotless shine. Sooner or later he was going to actually remember to get Sans to pay his bills on time.

0-0-0-0-0

Sans walked for a little while, the rain long since gone. Little eddies of mist whirled around his feet as he shuffled down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets. Chara dragged their own groaning skeleton along behind them, and Sans felt a twinge of sympathy for his duplicate. The warmth from the drinks had already faded, leaving only the stiffness in his head and a fuzziness on his tongue. He trudged along regardless however, stopping just in front of their multistory house. He looked up at it, roof still dripping with rainwater, and Sans felt like a stranger. Not just in front of his own home, but in his own life. When had things gotten so strange? When had it all snowballed into madness?

 _Probably around the same time you started playing god,_ he mused silently to himself.

Sans let out a quiet sigh and stuck his key in the lock. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked, and he carefully shuffled into the dark home. The door ever so slowly creaked open, and Sans stood in the doorway for a moment, one foot still outside.

"Y'ello?" Sans called out eventually. He held up a finger to halt the two behind him, and he cocked his head to listen for any sounds.

"In here, brother!"

Sans meandered toward the source of the noise and found Papyrus sitting in front of the television screen, hands folded neatly in his lap, sitting smack dab in the middle of the sofa. Sans felt a little silly for being so paranoid, wordlessly assuming that the lack of sleep was getting to him. He still wore his brown pocketed uniform, and Sans silently suspected that he had never even taken it off.

"... Paps?" Sans blinked. "What are you doing sitting in the dark?"

"Never turned it back on," Papyrus shrugged. Sans stared at him for a moment longer before shrugging as well, plopping into the seat beside him. Chara dragged in Void Sans and all but threw him into the recliner, where he landed face down and already snoring. Chara scowled in disgust, crawling up onto the couch on Papyrus's other side opposite Sans, intently staring at the television where one of the human's many, many different game shows was being displayed.

"Didn't you have other things to do than watch TV?" Sans asked after a few seconds.

"Toriel asked me to take care of the little one for the day," Papyrus shook his head, looking down to his brother. "She's sick, so I've been taking her soup every ten minutes."

"Uh... Paps?" Sans asked awkwardly. "I know you're supposed to stay hydrated and all that when you're sick, but, uh, maybe giving them soup every ten minutes isn't the best idea."

"Well, that _would_ explain the ferocious amount of vomiting," Papyrus rubbed his chin.

Sans let out a soft sigh.

"I'm gonna go check on the kid," he gradually pulled himself off the sofa, regretting that he was just starting to get comfortable.

"I'm coming too," Chara said quickly, springing off the couch and following close behind Sans up the stairs.

"For what?" he paused mid-step.

"Well, for the blatant reason," Chara rolled their eyes. "If your Frisk is close to death, then obviously she's about to reset."

Sans didn't wait to hear the rest of their explanation, taking the stairs three at a time. He positively barreled down the hallway, skidding to a stop in front of Frisk's and Asriel's room. His heart was pounding so loudly that it was all he could hear, so loud that he could feel it behind his eyes.

"KID!" Sans burst in through their bedroom door.

Frisk bolted upright in bed, sheets drawn to her chin and eyes as wide as saucers.

"H-hi Uncle Sads," Frisk's voice came out stifled and stuffy, and Sans saw that her eyes were red and swollen. She was almost surrounded by little tepees of tissue papers and numerous empty soup bowls, and she looked absolutely miserable. He sat down on the side of her bed that wasn't occupied and carefully felt of her forehead, which was very hot.

"You, uh..." he rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling very exposed between the children's stares. "I mean, hey. Heard you weren't doin' so good, kid."

"I'b fide, Uncle Sads," she coughed into her sheet, shoulders shaking. "I jus' hab a liddle cold."

"If that's a little cold I don't wanna see a big one," Sans said jokingly as he passed her a box of tissues, which were sitting on the nightstand.

"Dank you," Frisk said miserably as she blew her nose. "Hi, Chara."

"... Greetings," Chara gave an awkward half wave. "I see you're not dead yet."

"How dice ob you to nodice," Frisk coughed again. "How is your odher Sads?"

"Drunk," both Sans and Chara replied at once. Frisk only shrugged. Sans awkwardly stuck his hands in his pockets, glancing back and forth between the lookalikes.

"... It's, uh..." he started, looking unblinkingly back at Frisk. "It's actually pretty damned creepy how similar you two look."

"Is this only just now occurring to you?" Chara asked, leaning comfortably against the door frame.

"Wipe your face, kid," Sans glanced back at them. "You've got some _sass_ on your lip there."

Chara only frowned at him.

"I have a question." Chara asked after a moment had passed.

"Shoot," Sans said.

"Not for _you,_ " their frown deepened, and Sans blinked.

"... Be?" Frisk pointed to herself in confusion. "U-um, o-okay...?"

"Why haven't you reset yet?"

"... Why would I?" Frisk balked at them.

"Like, say, for example..." Chara closed their hands behind their backs. "Say something catastrophic were to occur. You miss a day of school. Someone you love loses an eye. A friend dies."

It was dead silent in the room when Chara paused.

"... Let's say that any of those things were to happen," they continued. "Completely hypothetical, of course. So, what _exactly_ would it take for you to reset?"

"... _Why?_ " Frisk asked at last, staring at her doppelganger.

"Merely to sate our own curiosity," Chara inspected their fingernails studiously. "We wanted to know if resets were still a thing in your world."

"They're not," Sans interjected. "Because they promised that they would never reset anything again. Right?"

Frisk didn't look up at him.

"... Right?" he suddenly felt an uncomfortable weight in his stomach.

"R-right," Frisk nodded furiously, meeting his gaze. "Not ever again."

"Interesting, interesting." Chara hummed. "Another hypothetical situation, if you will. What, exactly, would happen to the current timeline if something were to... _happen_ to Frisk?"

"... Hang in there, kiddo," Sans gently patted Frisk on the head before standing. "Chara, you're coming with me."

"What?" Chara balked as he pushed them out of the room. "What? What did I say?!"

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

This is now officially the longest running Undertale fanfic that I've ever written. Wow. Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please let me know in the comments to tell me how I'm doing! :D


	35. The Gamble

0-0-0-0-0

It was going to be a long day.

Sans could tell. There were just certain days on which he woke up in the morning with that uneasy feeling like he were perched on the edge of a very high cliff, and looking over made him feel the weight of the entire world pulling him down.

It was moments like those that Sans had to forcibly remind himself of what was at stake if he were to just throw in the towel. Toriel was counting on him. Papyrus, maybe even more so than he realized. Frisk, and Asriel, Alphys and Undyne, even Chara and their version of Sans, all counting on him to ensure that their relatively normal life remained just that.

He lay on his back in bed next to Toriel, one hand draped over his stomach as he listened to her breathing next to him, the early morning birdsong wafting in through the windows atop the trickles of sunlight. He ever so slowly turned his head to gaze out the window, wondering just when it was that it would all be torn away from him. Sans could feel the weight of everything on his chest, and it ached horribly.

However, he eventually let out a harsh, shallow sigh, closing his eyes for a moment and collecting himself. It wouldn't do any good to dwell on potential resets or memories of waking up in Snowden where all of his friends and loved ones were d- gone. He ejected the thought from his mind as quickly as he could, squeezing his eyes shut.

Although he didn't notice at first, he felt the gentle touch of Toriel grasping his shaking hand in hers. He blinked, fully awake, and glanced over to her. Her eyes were still closed and her breathing was slow and heavy, but there was a little smile on her lips. That, in turn, ever so slowly lit a spark in him, and although she couldn't see it, he smiled back. Some days were very, very long, this was true.

Maybe sometimes, that was a good thing.

0-0-0-0-0

Sans whistled cheerfully as he flipped pancakes. The early morning business of the house was beginning to infect him as well, though he was relatively reluctant to admit it. Toriel busied herself packing lunches for the children, and Papyrus contented himself with 'helping' by rearranging their sandwiches to look more like his face. Unfortunately, all he managed to do was cram the labeled paper bags with severely mushed sandwiches. Asriel simply sat and stared through the table, his eyes wide. Sans quietly noted the slight bags beneath his eyes, but said nothing.

"Are you alright, my child?" Toriel asked Asriel, the younger goat sitting stiffly at the table. "You haven't even touched your breakfast."

"Must be from being quarantined in with Ch- I mean, Frisk all night," he replied, but his voice was oddly hollow.

"You don't have a fever..." Toriel felt his forehead with the back of her hand. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, of course," he replied instantly, but again in that same flat tone. Sans eyed him carefully as he expertly flipped pancakes into the air with one hand. "I-it was just a joke. I'm fine, Mom. You don't have to worry."

"Hardly," Toriel snorted, pouring him a glass full of the stabilization gel, which he turned up his nose at. "A mother's job _is_ to worry, as is a teacher's, and I'll won't quit either of them until I'm _dead._ "

"O-okay..." Asriel said, a little wide eyed as he turned the glass full of purple liquid, eventually wrinkling up his nose and chugging it. "Moms can be, kind of, um... scary, sometimes."

"You're lucky to have such a caring parent," Papyrus patted him on the head, plopping down into one of the empty kitchen table chairs. "The scariness factor means that she _really_ cares about you. Also that you don't want to get into a knife fight with her."

"Paps, I don't think you're much one to talk," Sans said with a grin, dropping into the chair opposite his brother. "Considering that you actually _look_ like you lost a knife fight."

"What, this?" Papyrus pointed to his black eye patch. "Oh, I'm definitely keeping it, dear brother. Besides, Undyne says it makes me look super distinguished. Like a pirate! I'm distinguished looking, right?"

Sans grinned up at his brother widely, his eyes almost sparkling.

"If you were any cooler you'd be an ice cube, bro."

"True, but then I would be a 'square'. And only rectangles like squares."

"... What," Sans blinked.

"I'm picking up on all of that hip new lingo, 'dude,'" Papyrus said evenly. "I am flipping with the hippity, my home skillet. Fo' shizzle."

Sans snorted into his hand, violently struggling not to laugh.

"Sans?" Papyrus blinked, looking to Toriel for help. She, however, was equally distracted with attempting to hide her face behind one of the paper bags, and not doing a very good job of disguising her giggles. "Sans, I begin to fear that you are not 'picking up the hot spit I be flappin',' dude."

"Pa-Paps," Sans said between wheezy laughs. "Papyrus, please. For the love of all that is holy, never change."

"Well, if you insist, brother," he replied warmly. "I don't know how I'm going to dry clean my uniform, though."

"I meant – ah, fuhgeddaboudit," Sans chuckled. "... You, uh, y'alright there, kid?"

Asriel blinked, glancing up from his plate.

"Still not hungry?" Sans asked, carefully cutting his pancakes. "Might be wise to grab what grub you can before school, because I've no doubt in my mind that Chara and lumpy in there," he motioned toward the dark living room, "are going to be hungry."

"I just..." Asriel started, clearing his throat. "I just have to go check on something first."

And with that he swiftly pushed himself away from the table, darting up the stairs noisily.

"... Gimme a sec," Sans sighed from the look that Toriel was giving him. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Sans," she beamed at him.

Sans gave another small sigh as he trudged through the living room toward the stairs, giving the two sleeping residents of the room a stare before quietly ascending the stairs, hand sliding up the railing as he went. He passed a couple of family photos as he went up, and for a few seconds he simply stood on the stairs, hand over the old photo of them all on the side of Mount Ebott. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he shook his head. Time for reminiscing later.

To his surprise, he found Asriel with his chin in his hands, pacing furiously back and forth in front of his bedroom door.

"... Kid?"

Asriel jumped at the sound of his voice, his eyes wide.

"Y-yeah?" he froze, staring at him.

"You sure you're feelin' alright?" Sans approached him slowly, almost as one would a frightened animal. "You're acting kinda weird. I mean, weirder than usual."

"I know, I know-" Asriel let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair. "I-I'm just, it's just that... jeez," he let out another breath and a half laugh. "God, where do I begin?"

"Let's start with why you haven't been sleeping at night."

"Who told you about that?" Asriel's eyes narrowed.

"Nobody," Sans replied flatly. "You look like a ten pound brick in a five pound bag."

"What?"

"You look like you haven't slept in a while," he continued. He leaned against the wall, staring at Asriel the entire while. "Seriously, kid. You can't burn the candle at both ends, take it from a professional."

"I just..." Asriel looked away, rubbing the side of his head roughly. "I can't _stand_ being helpless!"

"... Okay," Sans blinked. "You wanna elaborate?"

Asriel just jabbed a thumb back at their bedroom door.

"Oh," Sans nodded once.

"Yeah," Asriel frowned. "Oh."

"Just a little cold, kid..." Sans attempted to soothe the rattled child. "She'll be fine, just give her a couple of days."

"It's not just that," Asriel began to pace again. "I can't use magic to heal her – I couldn't use magic to heal myself, and believe me, I have _tried!_ No matter what I do, nothing... nothing works!"

"Could have sworn we've been over this topic before," Sans yawned. "Just give it time, buddy-"

"Time?" Asriel scoffed. "What, you want me to just _wait around_ and hope for the best like you do?"

Sans blinked, staring back at him. Asriel seemed not to notice the effect that it had on Sans, however, continuing to pace.

"I can't use magic," his voice came out uneven as he ran a hand through his hair again. "Oh god, what if it never comes back?"

"Listen, kid-"

"I can't just sit about and do-do _nothing!_ " Asriel crossed his arms, pacing back and forth rapidly. "There has to be something, _anything_ that I can do – I can't keep doing this, Sans! I keep messing up and I don't know how to fix anything and I don't even know what to say to my dad or how I'm supposed to fix what's wrong between him and Mom and I have a body again but I keep feeling like my heart is falling apart and Chara is back and now it's just like what even and I just _can't_ lose her again-!"

Asriel froze, hand clamped tightly to the left side of his chest, his eyes wide. His breaths were short and ragged, and his eyes were wide.

"O-oh god...!" he breathed shakily, his knees wobbling. "Am I m-melting...?!"

"Kid."

Asriel glanced up at Sans as the skeleton put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax," he said quietly. "What you're experiencing right now is commonly referred to as an 'anxiety attack'. Just take a breather. Then we'll talk. Promise."

Asriel struggled to breathe, his jaw clamped tightly shut.

"... Why is this happening to me?" Asriel asked after a solid minute of silence.

"Well," Sans shifted away, leaning back against the wall. "Could be a multitude of things. Could be that you're overwhelmed. That's to be expected. Getting into the swing of things at school," he continued. "Could be that you're worrying too much. Could be that you aren't perfectly integrated with that body of yours yet. Could be that some of my traits were transferred to you in the soul exchanging process."

"Aw, gross!" Asriel took a step back. "I don't want to think about what skeleton bits I've got in me!"

"Funny," Sans crossed his arms. "Your mom said the same th-"

" _No,_ " Asriel scowled. "No 'your mom' jokes today. I'm begging you."

"Alright, alright," Sans waved him off flippantly. "Lemme get back to that other thing."

"Which other thing?"

"Don't play stupid," he frowned slightly. "You're not good at it."

Asriel looked away, crossing his arms as well.

"... Frisk," he leaned against the door, sliding down it before sitting on the floor, where Sans joined him. "Frisk, she's just... she looks so much like Chara."

"I've noticed," Sans nodded once.

"And-and she's _nice,_ " Asriel added. "She's probably the single nicest person, monster or otherwise, that I've ever met. She helps me with my homework even when it's super late at night because I forgot to do it. Everybody wants to be her friend, she's just that nice to everyone. She even goes out of her way to avoid stepping on _insects_ , for crying out loud," he let out a shaky breath. "She's... she's just..."  
"I know," Sans nodded again.

"Doubtful," Asriel frowned, staring at him. "In some ways, she's a lot like Chara. In other ways, she's like the polar opposite."

Sans said nothing, merely giving him a few moments to catch his breathe. However, Asriel said nothing more at first, simply sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, staring at the wall.

"... I'm scared," he admitted at last, still not looking at the skeleton. "You wanted to know what's bothering me? I am _scared._ "

"About what?"

"... Have-have I ever told you..." Asriel started slowly, staring down at his feet. "How I lost my sister?"

"No," Sans responded awkwardly. "No, you haven't."

"She died of a sickness," he said at last, and multiple things in Sans's head clicked at once. "Chara died of buttercup poisoning. I watched my sister's life ebb away. She died. She died, in my arms," his voice came out raspy and quiet, but still loud enough for him to hear. When he finally looked up, Sans could see that his eyes were red. "I-I can't go through that again. My heart will literally _break._ "

Sans said nothing for a very, very long while.

Eventually, however, he gradually rose and offered Asriel a hand, helping the child to his feet. Asriel wiped his eyes with the crook of his elbow, sniffling.

"... Hang in there, kiddo," Sans gave him a couple of pats on the back. "Things will turn out alright."

"How do you _know?_ " Asriel frowned. "How do you know everything won't just go horribly, horribly wrong?"

"That's a risk that's worth taking, little buddy," Sans led him down the stairs. "That's the gamble when you play the game of life. Now come on, kiddo. I'll take care of everything here. Let's get you to school."

"... Okay," Asriel said at last. "Okay. If you say so."

0-0-0-0-0

Inside her bedroom, Frisk sat with one hand over her mouth the entire time that the two had been speaking in hushed tones just outside the door. Then, as quietly and carefully as she could, she opened one of the windows and began to sneak outside.

0-0-0-0-0


	36. Worse Than Death

0-0-0-0-0

It was a slow morning.

Sans sluggishly poured himself a cup of coffee, shuffling into the living room where Chara sat on the edge of the sofa, watching the television. He quietly took a seat on the other end of the couch, taking a long drought from his hot drink. Papyrus and Toriel had already left minutes ago, leaving him as assigned babysitter for his doppelganger and Frisk's lookalike. They sat in relative silence for a while, neither of them speaking a single word.

"... So what's it like?" Sans asked eventually.

"What's what like?" Chara replied without looking at him.

"Being dead."

Chara blinked and glanced over at him, expression neutral.

"Wow. That kind of came out of left field."

"Sorry if I didn't butter it up for ya," he shrugged. "Just curious about it is all."

"So go die and find out," Chara responded sourly, crossing their arms and turning their attention back to the screen.

"Colder than a snowman's butt, you are," Sans frowned, taking a slow sip from his coffee.

"You honestly want to know?" they asked, face still blank. "It's boring. Really, really boring. It was kinda like when my Sans and me jumped for the first time, but you're all alone. It's incredibly dull," Chara concluded, refusing to meet his gaze.

"Only wanted to know," Sans shrugged again. He stared at the dim glow of the television, feeling chilly just watching the weatherman talk about the incoming cold front. "How come you watch this garbage, anyway?"

"What, the news?" Chara asked.

"Yeah. It's always either this or late night television shows," he frowned slightly. "Shouldn't you be watching, y'know, kid's stuff? Like cartoons or something?"

"I'm not a kid," Chara harrumphed. "I'm ten years old!"

"Of course," he hid a small grin behind his mug. "It's just kind of funny."

"There's nothing 'funny' about it."

"Just," he scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "Frisk – our Frisk – she's almost a year older than you are."

"How is that funny?"

"Just makes me curious..." Sans said quietly, stealing a glance at the snoring Sans in the recliner. "There must be some sort of time skip if you jumped from your own timeline directly into the void. A barrier of time to prevent realities from intervening with one another..."

He fell silent after a moment, hand in his chin.

"That does raise one question for me," Chara said eventually after a long period of silence which was only broken by the stuttering weatherman. "If your Frisk is a year older, then... is she still possessed by another version of me?"

"What?" Sans said suddenly. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, it happened the moment she landed in the Underground," Chara said as if it were obvious. "I was awakened by her human soul, her determination. I wonder if, in your timeline, there's another version of me that has yet to take over..."

"That's... actually kind of disturbing," Sans rubbed one arm awkwardly.

"You think _that's_ disturbing," Chara scoffed. "Little man, I've seen things that would make your hair stand on end. If you _had_ hair, that is."

"Hey, I _rock_ the bald look," Sans shook his head. However, what they said still rang in his head. He wondered for a moment just what exactly went on in Frisk's head, and further wondered if he would even want to really know. But, there was that small part of him that ticked away, that rational and reasonable part of him that wanted to know absolutely everything about everything. That same part of him urged him to find out, and deep down, he knew that it would never be quiet until it was sated.

"... Come on, kid," Sans stood suddenly. "Can't sit around and chat all day. We've got things to do. Hey. Hey, Lumpy," he kicked the recliner, causing Void Sans to blearily raise his head. "Come on. Wake up. I've got a project that I need your help with."

"Yeah, sure," Void Sans yawned, rolling over. "Just... five more minutes."

Sans stood with his hand in his pocket, frowning. He eventually turned back to Chara and let out a sigh through his nose hole.

"You wanna lend a hand, kid?" Sans asked quietly.

"Depends," Chara said, meeting his gaze. "With what?"

"... You ever heard of a monster named 'Gaster'?"

0-0-0-0-0

"What – huff – do you even – hrrg – _need_ all of this crap for?" Chara wailed as they dropped yet another cardboard box full of mechanical parts onto the basement floor. It had been a short drive to Alphys and Undyne's house, and although Chara was at first eager to meet up with Undyne, they were sorely disappointed by her absence. They had been relatively sullen the entire drive back, which Sans had been trying to assuage the entire time.

"Every bolt and screw is important," Sans said quietly as he carefully placed a couple of his own boxes onto the metal coated floor. "Everything has its place, and we would be ill prepared not to know that."

"Still," Chara groaned, leaning against a tower of boxes. "It all seems like junk to me."

"That's because it hasn't been reassembled yet," Sans said with a small grin as he opened up one of the last boxes. "Now comes the hard part..."

"Great," Chara scowled. "Let me guess... we have to play the 'which tab into which slot' game?"

"That reminds me," Sans clicked his fingers. "Under absolutely _no_ circumstances are you to tell Tori what I'm building down here. That could end very, very poorly. For _both_ of us. _Capiche_?"

"Yeah, yeah," Chara said distractedly, pulling a long metal tube connected with multiple multicolored wires out of one of the boxes. "If you say so."

Sans grunted at the barely satisfactory answer, his mind already abuzz with the work ahead of him.

"Do we have to do it right now though?" Chara asked, barely masking their irritation. "I'm really hungry."

"Called it," Sans shook his head. "Yeah, I guess that's enough of a workout for now. I can reorganize the scrap when we get back."

"Get back?"

"Yeah," Sans slowly ascended the stairs. "When we get back. For now, we're goin' to Grillby's."

"Why Grillby's?"  
"Because I already cooked breakfast once and I'm too lazy to do it again," Sans held the basement door open for them. "Now chop chop, kiddo, or no breakfast for you."

Chara grumbled intelligibly and Sans followed them through the house. Sans paused for a moment as Chara stood in front of the door, staring at him.

"... Now what?" they frowned.

"Gimme a minute," he shook his head. "Gotta check on the kid first."

Sans trudged up the stairs in his slippers, hands in his pockets. Maybe today wasn't going to be so bad after all. He was going to see Grillby, get the phase distorter back in action, and rescue Gaster. All in all, it was going to be a busy day, but Sans could sense no foreseeable downsides.

Then he opened the door to Frisk and Asriel's room, and everything went wrong.

"... Kid?" he breathed, staring at the open window. Sans dashed to the windowsill, poking his head out. There was a trail of tied bed sheets as a makeshift rope leading all the way down to the ground, and Sans felt his blood run cold.

"... Oh, shit."

"'Oh shit', what?" Chara asked, standing in the doorway.

"Right," Sans turned to them. "First of all, don't swear. Secondly, _oh my god she's gone!"_

"What do you mean, 'gone'?" Chara stared at him.

"As in, _gone,_ " he pointed at the rope of bed sheets, which were currently tied to the post of Frisk's bed. "She must have snuck out!"

"Is that all you're worried about?" Chara asked with a yawn. "Can we at least get breakfast first?"

"You don't quite seem to understand the ramifications here," Sans stated. "Tori asked me to keep a close watch on Frisk, she's going to _kill_ me!"

"That sounds more like your problem rather than mine," Chara said expressionlessly. "Seriously though, let's go get breakfast first."

"Where could she have gone, though...?" Sans mused aloud, holding the bed sheet in one hand.

"... I'm pretty sure I have a good idea."

0-0-0-0-0

Frisk sat on the edge of the cliff, watching the sun rise from the side of Mount Ebott. The early morning birdsong from the nearby forest easily reached her ears, and she sat there with her legs dangling off the edge of the cliff for what felt like hours. There was a light fog crawling over the distant city, almost reaching out like long white fingers from the forest and yawning over the entire area. Humongous, roiling alabaster clouds rolled above, promising of soon to be rain. Frisk simply stayed there for the longest time, watching the clouds float by. It was the spot that she and all of her friends had watched their first sunrise since leaving the underground, and no matter how many times her mind begged her to return home she simply could not bring herself to leave the place.

"... Hey."

Frisk's head snapped in the direction of the noise, and she held a hand to her chest.

"U-Uncle Sans?" she asked, her voice still stuffy from the illness. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," the skeleton stuck his hands in his pockets. Chara stood a little ways away from him, leaning against a tree and trying to look disinterested.

"I-I'm sorry," her face went pink. "I-I-I j-just..."

"... 's alright, kid," he pulled her into a quick hug. "Just... _warn_ me the next time you wanna take a hike, okay? Toriel would _kill_ me if something happened to you on my watch."

"I'm sorry," she hung her head. "I just... I needed to come back here."

"What, this ol' place?" Sans asked.

"I just... needed some space to think."

"About what?"

Frisk did not answer.

"... I gotcha," he said as he helped her to her feet. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get you home, okay?"

The walk back down the side of Mt. Ebott was uneventful and mercifully quiet. It did not take them long to find one of the many paths leading down the side of the mountain. There was an ominous rumble of thunder overhead, and Frisk sneezed.

"God, I forgot how much it rained here," Chara scowled, wrapping their arms tightly around their body as they gazed up at the sky. "I swear, it's like it never ends."

"Aww, it's not that bad," Sans shrugged, leading Frisk along by the hand as they walked down the mountain trail. "Nice cool, fresh air, some plant-watering, and before you know it you're... _right as rain._ "

"That was a terrible pun," Chara met his gaze as they walked opposite him. "Honestly, if that's what you consider a proper joke-"

"Oh, come on. My jokes aren't _that_ bad."

"If your jokes were any worse they could literally kill the unprepared."

"Um... U-Uncle Sans?"

"Hmm?" he blinked, glancing down to Frisk.

"You-you aren't gonna tell Mom, are-are you?"

"That depends," he pretended to think on it. "You aren't gonna sneak out again, are you?"

"N-no," she hung her head. "I promise."

"Then I _probably_ won't tell Tori," he shrugged. "Come on, bucko. We're almost there."

0-0-0-0-0

Frisk sneezed for the hundredth time, and Sans slowly shook his head.

"That's what you get," he said with a wry grin as he kindly passed her the steaming bowl of soup, and she weakly curled up her legs in her bed as she sat up to eat it. "Going out in cold weather without a coat, you'll catch your death out there. Or at the very least a near death experience."

"I feel terrible," Frisk sniffled.

"I'm not surprised," Sans shook his head slowly. "Just make sure to rest up for realsies this time, kiddo. Alright?"

"Okay, Uncle Sans."

He quietly closed her bedroom door behind him as he left, slowly shaking his head.

"... Well?"

"Couldn't get a word out of her," Sans said quietly to Chara as they descended the stairs. "All she'd say is that she needed space to think."

"And I suppose I'm not to say anything to Mom about _this_ , either?"

"It would be much appreciated," Sans said with a nod. "If you don't mind, I'd prefer it if we kept this little jaunt just between us."

"And why is that?"

"Because if Tori finds out I let Frisk climb out of the second story window she will literally kill me, now if you still want breakfast hush your face hole and get moving," he motioned for them to move down the stairs ahead of him. "In case you'd forgotten, we've still got a broken phase distorter that needs work."

"I'm sorry, 'we'?" Chara frowned.

"Well," Sans shrugged as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "You can either sit upstairs and watch reruns and television programs all day while listening to Lumpy snore, or you can learn some neat-o science facts from your dear ol' Dunkle Sans while we break the laws of space and time. What's it gonna be?"

Chara's face became blank as they analyzed the situation, staring levelly at the living room where Void Sans still lay dormant.

"... I wanna help you with the phase distorter."

"Whuzzat?" Sans cupped the side of his head.

"I said I wanna help you with the phase distorter," Chara scowled, crossing their arms.

"Awesome," he grinned triumphantly. "We're gonna need some industrial strength superglue, duct tape, and a whole lot of elbow grease."

"What's elbow grease?"

"You'll find out in about ten minutes."

0-0-0-0-0

"I don't wanna do this," Sans moaned, facedown into the sofa.

"Mom said you have to," Chara reminded him with their arms crossed.

"But I can't," he wailed into the cushion. "It's _literally_ worse than death."

"A PTA meeting is probably _not_ going to kill you, Sans!"

"That's not a risk I'm willing to take!"

"Just _do_ it already," Void Sans said from his position in the recliner, an open bottle in one hand. "Y'know. Like a bandage. One, two, done. Easy as that."

"It's never that easy," Sans pried his face up from the sofa. "Have you _tried_ Helen's lemon squares? I hear the last guy is still in the hospital!"

"Hey, what do I know," Void Sans shrugged, crossing his legs. "Go on ahead, man. I'll take care of everything here."

"Se-seriously?" Sans blinked, glancing up at his doppelganger.

"What's with that look?" he shrugged. "I'm not _completely_ irresponsible y'know."

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that... I don't believe you."

0-0-0-0-0

Sans yawned as he dropped into one of the wooden chairs around the large rectangular table set up for parents and teachers, and he propped his chin up with one hand with his elbow on the table. He repeated his mantra to himself several times to stay awake, though it didn't seem to be doing much good.

 _Eyes open. Nod every few minutes. Pretend to pay attention._

"Have you even listened to a word I said?"

 _So much for that._

"Yeah, of course," Sans replied instantly, blearily prying his eyes open to stare at his next door neighbor. "Freedom of speech, second amendment, give the children guns, I heard ya."

"You can't say that!" Helen barked at him. "That's not what I said!"

"Freedom of speech," he held up a bony finger. "Not that this isn't _super_ interesting, but I've kind of got things planned, can we wrap this up?"

"You literally just got here two minutes ago," she snapped, hands slamming down on the table. "I'm sorry, are we _interrupting_ your soap operas or something?"

"Soap operas are for people with soap for brains," he shrugged, earning a stifled snicker from the woman next to him.

"Excuse me, _I_ watch soap operas!" Helen's face went a violent shade of pink.

"I stand by my previous statement."

"What would you even know about brains?" she scoffed, standing up. "You're a _skeleton,_ you don't even _have_ a brain!"

"Wow, firstly, that was super racist, even for you, Helen," Sans said in a monotone voice. "And secondly, I know more about neurosurgery than you know about asinine bullshit. I literally have nine doctorates. I _dare_ you to argue the case. Bring it."

It fell dead silent in the meeting room for a moment. It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"... Back to the task at hand," Helen fumed quietly, reclaiming her seat.

"Which would be...?" Sans asked politely.

"You would know if you _listened,_ " the woman at the opposite end of the table glowered vehemently at him. "The state is insisting that we begin teaching... _sex ed._ "

Quiet fell over the group once again. Granted, only for a moment, but it was nice to Sans to have a moment's reprieve from Helen's voice.

"... And?" Sans motioned for her to continue.

"What do you mean, _and?_ " she scoffed. "We can't let the school teach sex ed, these children are at a very impressionable age!"

"Oh my god," Sans pinched the spot between his eyes, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to fight the tide of irritation. "For Christ'ssake, Helen. You can't be serious."

"As serious as heart attack," her steely gaze met his.

"Actually, no, I'm with Sans on this one," a mousy haired woman in the middle of the table held up a hand nervously.

"Yes thank you very much for the input Janet," Helen said in one breath.

"Yeah, I'm sure that preventing children from learning about STDs is just so dangerous to their mental health," Sans deadpanned.

"It's _shameful!_ "

"... _How?_ " Sans balked at Helen. "Woman, how do you _function?_ "

"Well?!" she threw up her arms. "And what would _you_ suggest?"

"Easy," he gave her a level stare. "Actually _teach_ the children."

"What about my son?" Helen crossed her arms. "How am I supposed to let a teacher explain _sex_ to him?"

"That one's just as easy," Sans frowned. "Just let the teachers do their jobs. Or, y'know. Actually show initiative and talk to your kid yourself."

"My son is _too young_ to understand... _that!_ "

"Your son also eats paste when he thinks nobody is looking," Sans retorted, earning another stifled snicker from the mousy haired woman. "A prime example of people not allowing for survival of the fittest."

"Oh, don't start quoting Darwin!" Helen scoffed at him. "You know full well that evolution is just a theory!"

"Yeah, just like gravity is just a theory. In that it continues existing regardless of your ignorance of its capacity."

The parent teacher meeting 'mysteriously' fell apart shortly afterwards.

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Hey all! Thanks for reading, I really hope you've enjoyed the story thus far. If you liked it, please let me know how I'm doing in the comments. See you in the next chapter! :D


	37. Everybody Loves Mettaton

0-0-0-0-0

Sans stared down at the schematics in one hand, glass of scotch in the other. Ice clinked against the side as he brought the drink to his mouth and he downed the whole thing, briefly shuddering afterwards. He never could quite bring himself to prefer scotch over magically aged bourbon, but it was something. He toiled ceaselessly with the tools at his disposal, only occasionally stopping to recheck the blueprints that he and Alphys had developed. The concoction of ice cubes and scotch gradually grew from a single glass to settle his nerves to three to help him think, to seven to help him stop thinking, and an extra one to help him sleep. He barely registered the time as he stumbled up the stairs. Sans crashed onto the sofa with a groan.

What surprised him, however, was the second groan that came afterwards.

" _Augh! Get off me, you oaf!"_ Chara's muffled voice came out from underneath him. " _Your fat uncle body is crushing the life out of me!"_

Sans managed to mumble half of an apology as he was kicked to the floor.

" _Never_ do that again!" Chara scolded him.

"You need your own room," Sans frowned as he stood, woozy. "I miss my couch."

"What's so great about a stupid couch, anyway?" they scowled, pulling their legs up beneath their blankets. "It's old, patchy and it smells like beer farts."

"That couch is probably about as old as I am," Sans shrugged as he meandered over to the stairs. "It has loads of sentimental value. And stuff. G'night, by the way."

"It's three in the freaking morning!"

"G'morning, then."

Sans yawned as he quietly trudged up the stairs. He shuffled down the hall to peer into Asriel and Frisk's room, satisfied that both of them seemed to be sleeping better than he was. Even when he was so drunk that he could barely stand he could hardly manage to find proper rest.

Once again he found himself standing outside Toriel's bedroom door, and he paused. A multitude of thoughts that he had been struggling to force down for the last few hours resurfaced all at once, and he froze with his hand on the doorknob.

What, exactly, was he going to tell Toriel when she inevitably found out that he had been rebuilding the phase distorter in the basement? How was he supposed to explain that particular bit to her when she discovered what he'd been doing? Did he really think that he could lie to her about something as potentially life changing as that?

And, if he could... could he even live with himself afterwards?

Sans's hand slowly slipped away from the doorknob.

He stealthily withdrew from the door, quietly sticking his hands back in his jacket pockets and letting out a long, silent sigh. Then he ever so slowly dragged himself back down the stairs. He wordlessly dropped into the seat on the opposite end of Chara on the sofa, where they had resumed watching another one of their favorite television programs. The pleasant buzz and warmth from the scotch had already long since worn off, merely leaving him feeling heavy headed and slightly sick.

"... Let me guess," Chara said without looking up. "You got too drunk and now you can't sleep."

"What gave it away?"

"Aside from the fact that, I don't know, my Sans does literally the exact same thing?" Chara replied with a hint of bitterness in their voice. "Maybe because you positively reek of alcohol, your face is all red and you're acting stupider than usual?"

"That doesn't necessarily imply that I'm drunk," Sans crossed his arms. "Only that I've been drinking is all."

"Do you even drink half as much as my Sans?"

"That's a weird sort of question," he gave them an odd look from the corner of his eye. "How would you even know how much he drinks? Here I was under the impression that the two of you didn't exactly spend a lot of quality time together."

"Why would you assume that?" Chara stared up at him.

"I'unno," he shrugged. "Maybe from the whole 'attempted homicide' thing, possibly."

"We... stayed in Snowdin for a little while," Chara said as they turned their attention back to the screen.

"Is that right."

"It's-it's not like we didn't _try,_ " they insisted. However, they still refused to meet his gaze. "I mean, we tried everything else before jumping."

"Really," he said with more than a hint of disbelief. "I find it hard to accept that, what with the myriad of other options available-"

" _Fuck_ you."

Sans blanched at the sudden curse, staring down at the child. To hear it coming from anyone was offputting to him, but to hear it from Frisk – no, from Frisk's lookalike, it was even more disturbing.

"You weren't _there,_ " Chara said without looking up at him. "You have... you have _no idea_ what-what it was _like._ Being forced to relive through the same thing over and over and over again, watching your friends and loved ones get slaughtered at the hands of a homicidal maniac..." they said with a quiet chuckle. "You don't _get_ a say in the matter. We did what we thought we had to. Not because we didn't _try._ "

Sans took in a deep breath through his teeth, uncertain of whether or not he was still too sober for the situation.

"... Kid," Sans let out a quiet breath after a long, uncomfortable period of silence. "I get the feeling you've got some issues."

"Oh, you _think?_ " Chara scoffed, but he noticed that they were furiously rubbing their eyes to dry them. "Gee, I wonder what gave it away."

"Do you still worry?"  
"... About what?"

"About losing control again."

Chara stared at him.

"... Why?"

"Answer the question."

"It depends on the result," they answered coyly.

"Answer. The. Question," he repeated tersely.

"... Sometimes," Chara said without looking at him. They instead pulled their blankets a little tighter, narrowing their eyes at the television screen. "Seeing Mom, and Asriel, and Undyne and Papyrus, everyone, it-it's..." they coughed into one hand, masking their face for a moment. However when their head came back up Sans noticed that their eyes were glistening. "I... worry. That anytime I'm not alert, not awake, I might wake up to find out that I've lost control, that... that I've lost everything all over again."

Sans let out another quiet sigh through his teeth, hands clasped together in his lap.

"... I think I might have a solution to your problem."

"Does it involve more gopher work?" Chara asked in mild disgust.

"What? No, no," he shook his head. "I... happen to know someone who has had extensive research into the fields of personality transferrence and possession. Maybe... she could help."

"Are-are you serious?" Chara looked him dead in the face. "Are you for real?"

"Yeah, I'd say it's worth a shot," he shrugged. "We can look into it first thing in the morning."

Sans was nearly bowled over from the sudden hug he received from Chara, and he was uncertain of how to respond. However he eventually let out another sigh and patted them on the back. They sat up watching an old black and white movie about killing mockingbirds until the sun rose.

0-0-0-0-0

"Sans?" Toriel stifled a yawn as she peeked into the kitchen. Sans was busying himself with expertly flipping bacon with one hand while seasoning eggs with the other. "What are you doing up at four in the morning?"

"Because I've lost all control of my life," Sans shrugged. "Might as well admit it and roll with the punches. Y'know?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she shook her head slowly.

"I asked him to make me breakfast."

Toriel jumped at the sound of Chara's voice, and she held a hand to her breast to steady her breathing.

"Kindly do not sneak up on me, my child," she knelt to give Chara a kiss on the forehead, which they wrinkled their nose up at.

"Because you have a weak heart?"

"No," she said as she stood, "because I am trained in several forms of martial arts and might not respond pleasantly," Toriel answered promptly. Chara let out a short bark of a laugh before tucking their hands beneath their armpits, looking to Sans for support.

"... Mom's joking, right?"

"Oh, she's _deadly_ serious," Sans eyed them carefully. "She knows kung fu, karate, jiujitsu, tae kwon do, and seven other dangerous sounding words."

"I hope you've had a proper night's rest, my child," Toriel said as she poured herself a cup of coffee in a mug with _Number 2 Nose Nuzzling Champs!_ printed on the side. "Because today, I have a special surprise for you!"

"Is it snail pie?" Chara asked with a hint of reservation. Toriel only laughed and shook her head.

"No, no, nothing so mundane," she grinned. "Today, I am officially enrolling you in the school that I teach at. I've spent the last few days organizing a new curriculum and everything."

"Wait, wait," Chara held up their hands, eyes wide. "SO... I have to go to school."

"Correct."

"But that also means I get to see Undyne again?"

"Every single day."

"This is it. This is the second greatest day of my life," Chara ran a hand through their hair.

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door being forcibly shoved open, and Papyrus marched into the kitchen tracking a trail of snow the entire way.

"Good morning, everyone!" he said with a huge grin.

"... Papyrus," Sans said, utterly oblivious to the fact that the eggs had caught fire. "... Why do you have lipstick marks all over your face?"

"Aren't you going to ask where I got my snazzy new suit?" Papyrus asked a little dejectedly, showing off his striped black suspenders and sleek black jacket, all of which matched his eyepatch rather well.

"Alright Paps," Sans said as he attempted to halfheartedly put out the small fire. "Where did you get the snazzy new suit?"

"All thanks to Mettaton," Papyrus beamed at him.

"... And what about the lipstick?"

"All thanks to Mettaton," Papyrus repeated.

"This is it," Sans said numbly. "This is the second worst day of my life."

"Oh, there's no need to be so dramatic, brother!" Papyrus scooped him up in a hug.

"I take it that means your date went over well?" Toriel asked him slyly.

"Why were you on a date at _this_ hour?" Sans asked as Papyrus carefully put him back on the floor.

"Mettaton is very flexible," Papyrus said with a wide smile. "Graciously working around _my_ hours. So considerate!"

"Yeah, but what were you even _doing_ at this time of morning?"

"... Mettaton is very flexible."

"OKAY, EW," Sans clapped his hands to the sides of his head. "Not a mental image that I ever wanted, thanks."

"Yeah, I think I'm partially scarred from this experience, and I didn't even participate in the conversation," Chara said quietly.

"What's _important,_ " Toriel interrupted, putting a hand on Papyrus's shoulder. "Is that Papyrus is happy."

"I know, I know..." Sans said as he placed the burned breakfast on the table. "But... _Mettaton_? Really?"

"I think that you have an unreasonable hatred for Mettaton, brother."

"It's not unreasonable," Sans crossed his arms, dropping into one of the seats and pouring himself a cup of coffee. "He's loud, obnoxious, attention needy-"

"Suave, handsome, articulate," Papyrus listed off his fingers.

"Arrogant, obstinate, deceitful-"

"Competent, flexible, polite-"

"Paps," Sans gave him a level stare. "Trying to make a case against your ro-boyfriend."

"Really, brother," Papyrus finally showed an inkling of irritation. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with Mettaton. He's a great guy!"

"Yeah, but...!" Sans started, only stopping when he spotted the look that Toriel was giving him.

"... Yeah," Sans hung his head at last, letting out a quiet sigh of defeat. "I... _guess_ he's not... completely awful."

"Well, I suppose that's the closest thing he's going to get to a complement," Papyrus shrugged. "Thank you for making breakfast, brother. The scorch marks are a nice touch!"

"I'm not sure how to process that," Sans let loose a little smile. "Thanks, I guess?"

"You're welcome, brother. Although coming from a master chef you should already be overjoyed at any praise I give to your cooking skills," Papyrus gave him a sly wink.

"Gee, I'll take it into consideration the next time I burn breakfast."

"You would be wise to do so, brother."

0-0-0-0-0

"Alphys!" Sans pounded on the front door to Alphys and Undyne's house. "Come on, let me in already! It's cold out here!"

He stood there in the light powdery snow for another couple of minutes with his shaking hands tucked deep into his pockets before the door gradually swung open, revealing Alphys in her labcoat. She looked as if she had never even taken it off, and there were bags under her eyes.

"... Sans," Alphys stared at him. "It is six in the morning."

"Yes," he said breathlessly.

"Six o'clock. In the morning."

" _Yes,_ " Sans tried to squeeze by her, only to be stopped by the scientist before he could proceed.

"Six in the morning," she repeated, the irritation plain in her voice. "The very _least_ you could do is _call_ ahead of time!"

"You know, I always forget that I have a phone," Sans mused aloud. "Can I please come in now? I'm losing feeling in my extremities."  
"Oh, you are _incorrigible,_ " Alphys threw up her arms, allowing him entrance. He rubbed his hands together both out of eagerness and attempt to warm his finger bones.

"Aren't I always?" Sans asked as he blew warmth into his fingers. "So, I've got this little project I'm working on-"

"I said that there is no way in _hell_ I am letting you put the phase distorter-"

"No, no, not that," Sans shook his head quickly. "It's about the kid."

"... Which one?"

"The one back from the dead," he replied sarcastically.

"... Which one?"

"Oy vey," Sans clapped a hand to his head. " _Chara._ "

"Oh," Alphys said eventually. "I was wondering when she was going to come up in 'friendly conversation'."

"They, actually," Sans said as he walked into her kitchen, helping himself to a mug of her coffee.

"No, please," Alphys tucked her hands behind her back. "Help yourself to _all_ my things, I insist."

Sans blinked, warming his hands on the mug.

"... Al?" he asked after a moment. "Are you, uh... you feelin' alright?"

"Sorry, Sans," Alphys rubbed her eyes with her claws. "I just haven't slept in... a really long time."

"I can relate," he shrugged. "Business or pleasure?"

"Isn't it always one or the other?" Alphys asked bitterly.

"Both tend to end in extensive hotel bills, amirite?"

Alphys didn't laugh.

"... Yikes," he shivered as he took another sip of his coffee. "You must be really down if not even that got a chuckle out of ya."

"It's the spike."

Sans did a spit take.

"... What," he said blankly, coffee dripping down his chin.

"My temporal flux readings have been off the charts for the last couple of days," she said quietly as she folded her claws in front of her after taking off her glasses, and Sans truly saw just how deflated she was. "I... wasn't sure how to tell you, what with everything that's been going on."

"I thought we narrowed it down to Lumpy and the phase distorter?" Sans's voice came out sounding hollow and empty. The tightness in his chest seemed to have returned, and he felt sick to his stomach.

"Who?"

"Sans," Sans said. "I mean, _other_ Sans; Void Sans! I thought that he was the cause of the initial temporal spike?!"

"So did I," Alphys began to pace back and forth. "At least until I got a better look at the readings."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Alphys looked up at him. "That something else has to be causing the temporal spike. Something even bigger than the last time. This is huge, Sans – I'm talking about a power surge so massive that even attempting to _read_ it could be catastrophic to bystanders."

"Krishna Christ," Sans leaned against the counter, suddenly very grateful for the support. "Did your monitors manage to pick up where, at least?"

"Not that I could get a decent bead on," she shook her head slowly. "I just know that it's going to occur locally within a matter of days."

"... Great," Sans slid down the side of the counter until he was sitting on the floor. "So, we have a potentially world ending implosion of fun little anomalies to look forward to."

"You mean...?"

"It happens in every timeline," Sans shook his head slowly. "Little things out of place. Most people don't even notice them like you or me. But the closer this spike gets, the more anomalies we're going to see, I bet my left hand on it."

They sat in silence for a while. Sans simply stared down at his pink slippers, vaguely wondering why he didn't bother to put on shoes before mentally kicking himself. He had other things to worry about.

"So," he clapped his hands together after a few minutes. "End of the world, yadda yadda yadda. Nothing we haven't faced before."

"Right," Alphys pushed her glasses up her nose, fierce look in her eyes. "We-we can manage this."

"Right," he agreed with her. "It's just a matter of siphoning information off of your monitors and chronophilic probes and detectors and pinpointing where and when it'll happen, then stopping it."

"It can't be that hard," Alphys laughed without mirth. "I mean, it's not like we haven't-"

"Broken the laws of space and time before?" Sans grinned.

"Right!" she nodded with determination, standing. "I-I'll get to work-"

"Oh, hey," Sans blinked as he stood with her. "I almost forgot. Meant to ask you about something."

"About...?"

"Uh..." he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So... what do you know about, eh... suppressing homicidal urges?"

"Is this about Mettaton again?" Alphys asked with a slight eye twitch.

"What?" Sans tried to laugh inconspicuously. "No, no, of course not. Why would you even ask that?"

"Because of the obvious."

"It's about the kid," he said at last.

"Which one?"

"Chara."

"Oh," Alphys nodded after a moment. "R-right."

Sans stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at her for a full beat.

"Uh," she tugged at the hem of her lab coat for a moment. "If we're talking about exorcising a ghost from the body of a homicidal child, I'm not sure that I can even do that..."

"Not exactly what I had in mind," Sans frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," he shrugged. "What about something that would prevent the kid from, totally hypothetical situation here, potentially losing control and butchering us all in our sleep?"

Alphys gulped.

"I'll... see what I can do."

"You're the best, Al."

"I know, Sans. That's why you keep coming back."

"Hey, that and the free coffee."

0-0-0-0-0


	38. The Ring

0-0-0-0-0

It was cold, Sans knew that much.

There was a cool, hollow sounding breeze ruffling through the golden corridor, and Sans pulled his jacket a little closer around him. Flecks of dust occasionally floated by on the wind, causing Sans to shiver again. He wondered who the poor unfortunate soul could have been this time. He leaned as casually as he could against one of the many stone pillars lining the hall to the king's abode, preparing himself. The waiting was probably the worst part. Knowing what was coming, knowing what could very well happen, and being forced to wait it out regardless. He couldn't stand it. Sans was no stranger to waiting, but times like these tended to make him very impatient.

Then, at long last, he heard the slow, deliberate echo of footsteps.

He took in a deep breath through his teeth, drawing up every ounce of reserved energy that he had before stepping around the corner-

"U-Uncle Sans?"

Sans blinked awake, shivering and shaking. He was standing on the edge on the rooftop balcony, the wind whipping his sparse clothes wildly. He blinked again when he felt for his jacket that wasn't there, revealing instead that he was only wearing a pair of boxer shorts and a white tee shirt. He stood directly on the edge of the balcony, and he promptly backed away a few steps with his hand over his left eye, his breathing heavy.

"Kid?" Sans blearily glanced down to Frisk, who was clutching her arms as close to her body as she could and shivering. "What are you doing on the roof?"

"Y-you were sl-sleep walking again," Frisk said with chattering teeth. "I-I thought y-you were gonna..."

"Nah, don't worry 'bout it, kiddo," he pulled her into a light hug. "Even when I'm asleep I gotta get some fresh air every once in a while, y'know? Come on, buddy. You don't have to _cry,_ if you do that then _I'm_ gonna start cryin'."

"S-sorry Uncle Sans," Frisk wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her arm. "I-I was just really worried..."

"Whaddya say we go get some breakfast before school, eh kiddo?" Sans forced a cheerful little smile, opening the balcony door for them. "You'll have to foot the bill though, so I hope you're prepared, because I am _hungry._ "

Frisk let out a small laugh, and Sans felt the weight on his chest ease a little. He marched with a whistle down the stairs, stopping only to actually put on pants and grab his jacket. The last time he'd walked into Grillby's without pants the bartender had not necessarily appreciated his company.

It didn't take long to walk to Grillby's pub. Sans quietly mused to himself that one of these days he was actually going to get a car. It wasn't like he didn't have the money now; what with royalties from inventions he and Alphys had patented and funding from grants from the numerous prestigious colleges that he was asked to speak at, there was no shortage of cash to worry about. However, it still didn't really matter to Sans. He wasn't a materialistic sort of person, as money was merely a means to an end. Although, it did help with keeping his tabs paid, so he wasn't complaining.

"After you, kiddo," he held the door open for Frisk. She quietly thanked him and slipped into the pub, looking about at the empty bar.

"... It's empty," Frisk said aloud as she looked around.

"It's five in the morning," Sans pointed out as he followed her inside, letting the warmth of the establishment soak into his bones. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know what I was expecting," Frisk shrugged as she clambered up into one of the bar stools. "Hi, Mister Grillby."

"Good morning, Frisk," Grillby greeted her as he cleaned a mug with an old white rag. "Hello to you too, Sans."

"Grillbz, don't you know what time it is?" Sans said with a small grin as he dropped into one of the seats beside Frisk. "What are you doing at work?"

"You know full well that I live here, Sans," Grillby said flatly. "My work is never ending."

"Wow," Sans shuddered despite the warmth. "That sounds terrible."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Grillby shook his head slowly. "What can I get for you this fine morning, my friends?"

"Couple 'o hot chocolates," he responded, and Grillby nodded once before leaving through the fire exit.

"... A'ight," Sans said after a few moments, tilting his head slightly toward Frisk. "I got a question."

"Yeah, Uncle Sans?"

"A bit ago," he started, folding his hands over one another on the counter. "You said I was sleep walking."

"... Yeah...?"

"Again. As in, implying that I've been sleep walking before."

"Well... yeah," Frisk said as if it was obvious. "This is, like, the fifth time."

Sans blinked and stared at her, uncertain of how to respond. The news was unsettling to say the least. Then again, with everything else that was going on, he wasn't surprised if the amount of stress was causing him to sleepwalk. Hell, he was surprised he wasn't stressed to the point of hair falling out.

"Double order of hot chocolate," Grillby said as he returned, carefully sliding the pair of steaming mugs toward his customers.

"Thanks Grillbz," Sans grinned at him, passing one of the mugs to Frisk. They sat in silence for a while, simply sipping at their hot drinks while Grillby toiled ceaselessly behind the counter to ensure that everything was spotless and clean. A few customers here and there began to trickle in, and Grillby was swift to serve them, busying himself about the bar as more people and monsters arrived.

"... So," Sans said after a while of silence. "What d'you think about Chara?"

"They're... okay?" Frisk said uncertainly. "I mean, they don't seem to be a bad person. It's just kind of creepy that they look just like me. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Sans shrugged. "I'll take your opinion into consideration."

"What do you mean?"

"You seem to be a pretty good judge of character," Sans shrugged again.

"Uncle Sans? I'm a _terrible_ judge of character. I'm _eleven._ "

"You do make a fair point."

"Uncle Sans?"

"Hmm?" he asked as he took a long drought from his hot chocolate.

"Is there... something bad going on?"

Sans was careful not to choke on his drink, forcing himself to respond slowly and carefully.

"What do you mean, kiddo?"

"I mean..." Frisk fidgeted uncomfortably, pulling at her wrists. "I mean, you keep disappearing, and Alphys keeps leaving these weird messages on the phone that I can't tell whether they're warnings or not about something that she won't talk about, and you're sleepwalking again, and-and-"

"Whoa, whoa, k-kiddo," Sans forced a small laugh. "You're working yourself up over nothing here."

"I am?"

"Of course," he lied, feeling his sins crawling on his back. "Things are just kind of crazy right now. Things will be back to normal before you know it. Alright?"

"O-okay..." Frisk said after a moment, nodding and taking a slow sip of her hot chocolate. "If you say so, Uncle Sans."

Even though she agreed with him, Sans couldn't quite shake the feeling that somehow, against all logic, deep down she knew that he wasn't telling the truth, and it ate at him like a wild animal.

0-0-0-0-0

Sans wiped a bead of sweat from his brow as he worked, sketching down a few numbers on the schematics. He frowned as the numbers refused yet again to add up, and he tilted it a few inches to get a better look. Perhaps he'd simply been working for too long. Surely he hadn't made an error; then again, that was where Alphys's expertise had come in handy. He didn't need the phase distorter overloading again. Sans squinted his eyes at it to make sure, slowly turning to the unhelpful glass of scotch before shrugging and tossing back his drink, ice and all.

"... What am I supposed to do, Dad...?" Sans murmured into one hand, rubbing the back of his head with his other. "How am I supposed to do this by myself...?"

Sans ran a hand down the blueprints, his skeletal finger trailing over a long list of codes. Surely there was something there that he was missing, something that he was just failing to see, but whatever it was it refused to come to him. He let out a quiet sigh and rolled up the schematics, leaning on one elbow and staring at elusive victory. He had to fight off a sudden rising panic and held his hand to his chest, keeping his breathing steady to ward off the clenching pain.

The clock that he had installed on the wall ticked away, revealing that his time was running short. He quickly gathered his materials and tucked them away beneath his workbench, carefully hiding the phase distorter beneath a large blue tarp and trundled up the stairs. He made sure to padlock the basement door shut, and with that, left his work behind, though for what, he wasn't entirely certain anymore.

0-0-0-0-0

"Alphys," Sans banged on the door with one fist, the other in his pocket. "Alphys! Come on! Open up already, I know you're in there! Alphys? Alphys!"

"Oh my freakin' god!" Alphy's front door whipped open, revealing Undyne in a pair of shorts and a long white shirt. "Sans, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Hi, can Alphys come out to play?" Sans asked innocently.

"It's two in the goddamned morning!"

"... So is that a yes?"

Undyne slammed the door in his face, darkly muttering foul curses under her breath. Sans stared for a moment before sticking his hand back into his pocket, whistling tunelessly for a minute before the door finally reopened.

"Sans?" Alphys rubbed one of her eyes with her claws, staring at him. She wore a long sleeveless nightgown with the word _otaku_ in bold print on the front, and looked as if she had thrown it on in a hurry. "Do you have... _any_ idea what time it is?"

"So I've been thinkin'," Sans started.

"Sans, it's a little past two, it's snowing, and you smell like malt liquor. This had better be _damned_ good."

"I know, I know," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, looking away. "Just... just hear me out."

Alphys sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and readjusting her glasses.

"What is it, Sans."

"Okay, so," he began to pace on the doorstep, folding his hands behind his back. "I get the feeling that, one way or another, resests are comin'. So I've been thinkin', and I really put some cranium juice into this one. We brought other me outta the void, right?"

"Where are you going with this...?" Alphys asked.

"Hang on a second and I'll explain."

"Explain faster, I'm losing feeling in my toes."

"Man, you are _sassy_ when you're mad."

"Sans!"

"Sorry, sorry," he shook his head fiercely, hiccuping. "Right. So, we brought him out of the void. Where Gaster supposedly is."

"... And?"

"So instead of tryin' to pull Gaster _out,_ " he stopped suddenly, grinning at her. "Why don't we just send someone else _in?"_

"... Sans that is," Alphys slowly took off her glasses. "... One of the _stupidest_ things that you have ever said, and I've known you almost your whole life."

"It's not _that_ bad!" Sans threw up his hands. "I mean, it's-it's worth a shot, right?"

"Sans, I seriously think you need to stop working on the phase distorter for a little while," Alphys said uncomfortably. "It's-it's starting to affect you. Not to be rude or anything, but... a lot. It's affecting you a lot. I'm really starting to worry about you, Sans."

"What have we got to lose?" Sans slurred.

"Reality as we know it?"

"I mean, _aside_ from reality as we know it."

"Listen, Sans-" Alphys started before staring at him for a moment and letting out a quiet sigh. "Just... just come in out of the cold for a little while. I'm not so cruel as to make you stand outside until you sober up a bit."

"You're the best, Al," Sans patted her on the shoulder with a grin. "You-you really are. You're just swell. I never tell you that, but-but you are. You're a smart feller."

"Sans you are literally so drunk that I'm getting contact-drunk from your _breath._ "

"... Does this mean I can crash on your couch for a little bit?"

"That depends," Alphys closed the door behind them. "Did Toriel lock you out of the house again?"

"Not yet," he muttered darkly.

Alphys sighed again and pinched the bridge of her nose, pointing to the living room without looking up at him.

"Thanks, Al. Remind me to bring up the plan again in the morning."

"I'm not discussing anything until you're at least half way sober."

"Al, I'm always at least half way sober."

0-0-0-0-0

Sans retched into the porcelain throne yet again, trembling as he clutched the sides.

"See, this is what happens when you get drunk," Alphys patted him on the back. "I hate to be an 'I told you so', but... well. You do this every time, Sans. You get stupid drunk, show up at my house, and vomit all over the place," she sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Thanks for holding my hair back, Al."

"Sans, you don't – never mind," she shook her head, passing him a small towel to wash his face with.

"Oh, god..." Sans clutched his head in one hand as he struggled to stand up straight. "What _happened_ last night? And why does my face hurt so much?"

"Well, you started banging on our front door at two in the morning drunk off your ass, for one."

"That's why my face hurts?"

"No, your face probably hurts because you tried making out with Undyne last night."

"Oh god," he moaned into his hands. "Oh god. Please god no."

"And _then_ you barfed into my slippers," Alphys added, crossing her arms. "So, uh, thanks for that."

"I swear," Sans covered his eyes miserably. "I'm _never_ drinking again-"

"That would be wise-"

"-Until next week."

"Sans, you are absolutely incorrigible."

"Is he done hugging the toilet yet?" Undyne poked her head around the corner, flipping her red hair from her face. She had a look of mixed exasperation and irritation on her face, and Sans couldn't quite meet her gaze.

"Undyne," Sans said uncomfortably. "L-listen, I-"

"Save it, short stack," Undyne said flatly. "Just clean yourself up and get done what you need to get done. I don't care what you do then. Just don't cause any more trouble than you already have."

She left with that, hair whipping behind her she turned so quickly. Sans stared after her for a moment, groaning into his palms again.

"Whelp," he said after a long, quiet sigh. "I'm sure that things aren't going to be horribly awkward between us now. This is even worse than that time I tried to hire her on at my hotdog stand."

"You mean the illegal one?"

"It was completely legal!" Sans harrumphed. "Mostly – that's _beside_ the point."  
"So, tell me," Alphys stood up straight, giving him a level look. "What was the point, then?"

"I... I'm too hungover to remember."

"Sans..." she started, gazing out the bathroom door for a moment before sighing and staring back at him. "Listen, is-is everything okay?"

"Okay?" he balked at her. "Okay? _Okay?_ Alphys, we are on the brink of erasure of everything that we've worked _so_ hard to accumulate, for everything that we've tried to prevent, and now, _now_ everything might come crashing down around our ears, and you want to know if I'm _okay?!_ No, I am most definitely _not_ okay! _"_

"Alright, alright, you don't have to _shout_ at me..." Alphys rubbed her bare arms awkwardly, looking away.

Sans took a shaky breath, uneasily taking in the sight. It was the first that he noticed that she was still in her nightshirt. Her claws were shaking, she was disheveled, and the bags beneath her eyes were deeper than ever. A quick cursory glance in the mirror revealed that he looked just as bad, if not worse, than she did. His clothes were a mess and hadn't been changed in days, his jacket and shirt were stained badly by oil, and the lines on his skull felt as deep as they looked. He wondered for a brief moment if he had been in the exact state as when he'd shown up on Alphys's doorstep.

"... I'm sorry, Al," he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I'm just... I'm trying," Sans held out his palms, pleadingly. "I'm trying my damnedest not to freak out. I'm trying to get the phase distorter up and running again before the whole world ends, I can't sleep at the house because I can't rest easy next to Tori knowing that I'm _lying_ to her about working in the basement again, my magic has failed me completely, did I mention the severe anxiety attacks are back-?"

"Stars and stones, Sans..." Alphys let out a quiet breath. "I-I knew you were going through a rough patch, but... _fuck."_

Sans blanched, unused to Alphys swearing.

"Sans. _Sans,_ " she put her hands on his shoulders. "Just... things are gonna be fine. Okay? Just take things one step at a time-"

"I know, I know..." he shrugged her off gently, meeting her worried gaze. "I... I'm sorry, Al."

"Don't be," she shook her head slowly. "I know things are kind of crazy right now, but-but everything will work out. Everything will be back to normal before you know it."

"... Heh," Sans gave a small grin. "You know, that's the same thing I tell the kids when they get worried."

"And that works?"

" _God_ no. They're about as stressed out as I am," he said with a slight frown. "You know, I think I forgot to mention, F- I mean, Asriel seems to be havin' the same difficulty with magic that I am."

Alphys gave him a long, silent stare before slowly shaking her head.

"Wash up, Sans. Come on downstairs and have some coffee with us when you're done," Alphys said eventually. "And we'll talk. Alright?"

"You realize coffee helping hangovers is just a myth, right?"

"I know. It's not for you."

"Cut me to the quick, Al. Cut me to the quick."

0-0-0-0-0

They sat in the living room, each holding their own steaming mugs. The deathly silence that reigned over the room seemed to permeate every corner, seeping from the walls and into the air itself. Undyne sat watchfully on the love seat decorated with little white doilies beside the scientist, who had her legs crossed up underneath her as she rifled silently through armfuls of notes and hurried sketches written in chicken scratch.

"It sounds to me..." Alphys said after a long time of staring into her drink. "... As if splitting off part of yourself to develop Asriel's artificial soul might have had longer lasting consequences than we anticipated."

"I figured that much out myself," Sans shrugged in the armchair across from her.

"And the chest pain you've been experiencing...?"

"Same spot where we surgically removed the rib."

"I figured as much," she mused quietly, readjusting her glasses. "What about Asriel?"

"He's had chest pain in the exact same place, weirdly enough. The first time I shrugged it off as, you know, anxiety or something, but..."

"Potentially a low level psychic connection caused from the implementation of another organically developed soul in his artificial body..." Alphys carefully placed her notes on the coffee table with one hand. "How is he holding up with the stabilization gel, by the way?"

"A lot better than he was before," Sans answered. "He can't stand the stuff. Understandable, smells awful. Probably tastes even worse."

"Well, I've got some bad news for you then," she frowned. "Because I'm working on a new batch for Toriel, and I want you to start taking it every morning for the next two weeks."

"Aw, seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. Two weeks."

"If we even live that long," he added.

"One thing at a time..." Alphys said tersely. "If your condition worsens, or god forbid you turn to dust and I knew that I could have done something to prevent it? I'd never forgive myself. Just... take it every morning and let me know the results. Alright?"

"I gotcha," he said resignedly. "Doesn't mean that I'm gonna like it, though."

"I didn't ask you to like it, I just asked you to drink it."

"So what did you come up with for Chara?"

Alphys clicked her talons together and stood abruptly, nearly spilling her drink.

"Oh my god, I almost forgot! It's still in the lab, I'll be right back!"

Sans was left alone with Undyne after that. The weighty silence soon resumed, and Sans uncomfortably glanced after Alphys in the hopes that she would soon return. The look that Undyne was giving him was making him feel as if he might soon burst into flame from the sheer intensity. A small, niggling part of him was a little afraid that he might, as he felt a bit of a rising heat in his face.

"... Listen, Undyne," he started.

"Not right now, Sans," Undyne said without meeting his gaze, instead boring a hole through him.

"Undyne, seriously. I-I want to apologize-"

"I don't need your apologies," her eyes narrowed as she finally stared directly at him. "I just want you to remember exactly how many ways there are to split someone's skull in half with a spear."

"Uh..."

"Because if you _ever_ try to pull that again," Undyne said dangerously, giving him a slow grin. "I just might temporarily forget that we're on the same team. Got that?"

"R-right," he swallowed. "Completely understand."

"So long as we're crystal clear."

"Transparently."

"Okay!" Alphys burst back into the room excitedly, out of breath. "Got it!"

"Great!" Sans clapped his hands together, glad to have something, _anything_ distract him from the horrid awkwardness. He looked her up and down for a clue, uncertain. "... Got what?"

"This," she presented a small, frail looking black ring in her claws, beaming proudly.

"Neat-o," Sans blinked. "I think you're proposing to the wrong person, though, but I'm flattered."

"W-what?" Alphys stared at him.

"Kidding, kidding," he pulled at the collar of his shirt from the absolutely _sweltering_ glower that Undyne was giving him. "Uh. What is it, though?"

"It's a ring. Duh."

"Wha-?"

"See? I have a sense of humor," she frowned slightly. However the look soon left her face and the excitement returned, and she presented the black ring yet again. "It's-it's still a work in progress, so it might be a little, um, _glitchy_ in certain areas, but I think this can really help!"

"That's great and all," Sans rubbed the back of his head. "But I could really use an explanation."

"I know," she said, grinning. "I was waiting for you to ask."

Surprisingly to both of them, Undyne snorted.

"This, my friend," Alphys held up the ring carefully in her talons. "Is what I've been developing in the lab. A brand new, state of the art, magically and technologically infused obsidian consciousness inhibitor ring!"

Sans let out a quiet whistle through his teeth, thinking.

"How'd you even make that thing...?"

"Reverse engineering the remains of the cognitive transition device we used for Asriel," she replied proudly. "After, um. You know. Void Sans blew it up."

"That's... that's actually really damned impressive, Al," Sans said with a wide grin, leaning back. "I mean, wow. I wasn't expecting you to have something so quickly. Have I ever mentioned that you're absolutely brilliant?"

"L-like I said, it's still in the early stages," Alphys explained, blushing slightly. "I've never developed anything quite like _this_ before. There is, um, j-just one itsy bitsy, _tiny_ little problem."

"What's that?" Undyne asked, leaning forward to better gaze at the shining ring. "It'll suppress the kid's crazy half and all, right?"

"W-well," Alphys shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "That's... sort of up in the air."

"So, does it work, or not?" Sans blinked.

"It-it _should,_ " Alphys said uncertainly. "It's just that, w-well... I'm not exactly certain _which_ personality of Chara's that it will actually inhibit. It-it hasn't really been, um, _tested_ yet."

"Oh," Sans said. "... _Oh."_

"Yeah," Alphys rubbed her neck with her spare claw. "So, I was thinking that, you know, what with Chara being the only case I've ever actually encountered of dual bodily possession..."

"Alphys, I do _not_ like where this is going."

"I didn't figure you would."

0-0-0-0-0

A/N

Hey all! Merry Christmas update to everybody, I'm so glad you've stuck with me for so long. I really hope you've enjoyed the story thus far. Next chapter is going to be even bigger than this one. Special thanks to those of you who have sent me messages pertaining to theories and ideas lately! If you liked it (or didn't whatever) please let me know how I'm doing in the comments! :D


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